To Aru Majutsu no Index: Road to Romance?
by Tensouls
Summary: When love is twisted, obsession is born. When human's desire is exposed, "chaos" befalls the whole world. A strange [phenomenon] has occurred and currently drives the world crazy. By a twisted of fate, Kamijou Touma went on a trip to find the source of this problem. Can he really do it when "half" of the world is after him? Sometime, romance and misfortune do goes along. (Harem)
1. Chapter 1: Strange-Obsession

**Disclaimer: I don't own To Aru Majutsu no Index.**

* * *

 _ **Chapter 1:**_

 _ **Looking Ways, Through_the_Great_Maze**_

 **Strange_Obsession**

In the midst of a cool wind trended to somewhere in all four surrounding directions, a sweat drop glided down from a boy's forehead and continued its way to his chin. With a "flopping" sound, it fused into the vast blue sea.

Leaning his head on a side of lifeboat, the boy then turned around, laying his back down on the floor and looked up to the clear sky with one hand covering his eyes from the gleaming, bright light of the fire ball floating in the center.

It has already half pass noon and naturally this was the period when the sun becomes the brightest and hottest in the day.

The sun rose so high above the horizon and there was no cloud to shield him from the sunlight so the heat just pierced directly into his skin and that has never been a pleasant feeling.

Sometime, he could feel himself getting a heatstroke at any moment just by staying under this heat.

"…."

The boy sighed softly.

The splashing sound of many waves came to his ear and some drops splashed onto his gravity defied hair as if it was trying to comfort him. However, listening to those waves was not helping him at all, it didn't make him feel better even for a little bit. It only reminded him more of the situation he was in.

He was in the middle of the sea, in the middle of nowhere.

There was no landmark, no sign of people, no nothing. All he could see in all four directions are water and water.

And the small lifeboat which he was on just kept floating endlessly to an unknown destination.

"So hot…."

The spiky haired boy tug the front of his orange shirt and waved it non-stop. He said that, but there was no other choice, he has to endure this.

The calm wind continued to flow.

The high school boy slowly sat up, looking down at his blue swim trunks and wiped away a few grain of sand sticking on it. The boy unzipped one of his pockets and took out his phone, which was carefully put inside a waterproof bag, to take a look at the time.

He wasn't surprise, it indeed had halt pass noon. Normally, this was the time when he stays at school or stood in the kitchen to make lunch for Index, Othinus the former Magic God and Sphynx during days off.

Saying normally because as of now, he can't do any of that.

A strange circumstance has happened. Something has happened and he can't no longer do that.

Ah, now that he thought about it.

How long has it been since the last time he cooked breakfast, lunch, dinner and extra meal for them?

How long has it been since the last time he was being chased around the city by Biribiri, ate a cake with Shokuhou and made cookies for Mitsuari?

How many tutoring sessions and extra supplementary classes with senpai and Komoe-sensei has he absent without telling them?

Two days?

Three days?

Four…..

…..wha…..no!

The boy slightly shook his head to get rid of those thoughts.

….there's no time to think about this.

There was simply no time, the situation he was facing is too urgent to ignore. Nothing else was more important than what he is doing.

This should be the one and only time he absolutely won't let his mind sway by thinking about them.

Of course, it was not like he didn't concern about them.

He deeply care for his friends.

Then again…..BUT…..

This one time….just this one time, he will refuse to lose his focus on what he was trying to do and that is for a good reason.

He will do this without making them concern him and will never let those concerns stops him.

No matter how it looks, this might have been one of his most selfish acts yet.

Still, if he was to let everything go now, it would be extremely dangerous.

Everything would be meaningless if things didn't go back to normal.

There would be more chaos across the globe if he really gave up.

It's alright.

Be selfish, you are doing this for them…..and for yourself, too.

And most important of all, you are doing this to save them, to free them from whatever phenomena or troubles that is currently driving the world crazy.

That's right.

With that said, **Kamijou Touma** 's grip on the phone tightened, determination burned in his blue eyes.

Although he might seem like someone who got lost in the great maze that is the sea and his sense of direction has been temporarily shut down because of that, Kamijou will definitely make it to the end and solve this circumstance once and for all.

Usually, it was understandable for a normal high school boy you can find anywhere like him to be terrified in this kind of situation.

Yet, at the moment, Kamijou didn't feel any of that. He didn't even feel hopeless or lost.

The reason was simple.

Toward the back of the small boat which was conveniently right next to his left side, a buzzing sound could be heard echoing repeatedly like a board just got electric fried following by a fainted column of black smoke flew up to the sky after it busted.

And…

Staring down at it was another high school boy you can find anywhere in a pair of blue shirt and swim trunks. With one hand grabbed the towel hanging on his shoulder, the high school boy with brown hair used it to wipe away the sweat dripping down on his forehead.

For a few minutes, he looked at the smoke then shifted his eyes to a small tablet holding in his left hand, surfing his fingers on the touch screen.

For some reasons, that boy blinked and he raised up the tablet over his head as if he was trying to gather more signal for the device to work.

A few seconds passed and in the end, the result was still the same. Frowning, the boy let out a small sigh and laid his back against the round edge of the lifeboat. Right hand placed on his neck and it gently swung.

"No good, the engine is dead."-said **Kamisato Kakeru** in an exhausted voice as he put the small tablet down. But needless to say, his brown eyes still held a calm light."And there is no signal either."

Kamijou was never alone in this strange circumstance.

"Right…..and we also lack the necessary tool to fix this. This is such a dilemma, indeed. This lifeboat must had been kept in the storage for too long before the last time it was used. If I have to give a score to the owner of this boat, it will be zero. The maintenance must have been done poorly without a proper technique or it might have never undergone one at all, the engine got all rusty and the fuel pipe has some dirty rubber sticking inside, there are even a few leaking holes around the tube."

Another voice added in the explanation to the brown haired boy's words. It was a voice belongs to men in their prime. Artificial but very smooth and generous like a true gentle man.

Kamijou slowly turned his eyes toward the source of the new voice. Sitting near to Kamisato and looking down at the boat fried engine was another person…..no….to be more precisely, it was an animal that was quite big and too intelligent to be fitted in the same category of its own kind.

"Even if it just a boat, made to be used for business, work, entertainment. I have to say if you run a business without taking care of your own materials, it will be no different from a scientist who tries to invent stuff that is no longer needed in life and society."

Kamijou was still listening and he could tell…..

If that person….no…..if that animal's face could form an expression, the spiky haired boy could imagine a man sighing with slight annoyance but didn't show it on his face.

Once again, that artificial voice spoke up.

"And now that we all seem to stuck in the middle of nowhere, being lost in a giant maze without a slightest hint to find our way out. Between good and bad, this would be very bad if you don't have a plan to deal with this, but between like and dislike, I wouldn't say I dislike this. Although saying this might be strange as someone who understands romance, sometime it could come in any form, it could even be the newly formed desire that buried deep within your soul, waiting for a chance to burst out like an innocent child with pure heart. This situation itself carries a mean to force the deepest, honest thought out of your own vessel. Such a strong emotion will make you realize how much you desire to survive this harsh reality and stay true to your own self."

Those words, it all belonged to a dog, a golden retriever.

It was **Kihara Noukan**.

The two normal high school boys you can find anywhere were not the only one on that lifeboat that floated midway through the big sea.

"Your way of depicting romance's definition truly is strange."

"Is it? As I said before, Kamisato-kun. Romance comes in many forms and it depends on each individual, this is a matter of perspective. But overall, I still hold the original meaning of that word. Trying to understand its concept is not easy but it becomes more interesting once you've already got to know it."

The golden retriever with a golden fur replied while proudly sat straight on its four leg.

The spiky haired boy still listened to the conversation between the two. However, his expression appeared unchanged, the blank and exhausted look was on his face the whole time. But it would be a lie if he didn't find himself shocked a tiny bit at the sight of a dog talking in human language.

"…"

"What's wrong, Kamijou-kun?"-noticing the deadpanned stare the spiky haired boy directed at himself, the golden retriever asked.

"…..hm…..you know, normally in this kind of scenario, this Kamijou-san would have been panic all over if he got lost in the sea, which he never was until now. Yet, at the moment, I don't think I can react like that for a short while after knowing something that can only exist in one of those anime series that Index likes so much is actually exists here. Magic God, angel and now this. No offense but seeing a dog talks like a human for the first time in my life, I'm starting to feel that nothing in this world could surprise me anymore. Even right now, Kamijou-san don't feel like he should care about being shivered in hopeless or despair if a vampire suddenly pops up from out of nowhere."

"Well, isn't that a good sign? I'm sure you are still feeling shock about my existence. It's all right, you just need some time to get used to this, young one. As a matter of fact, your reaction at this very moment can help yourself a lot more than you know in this situation."

"…."

Yes.

Now, Kamijou was feeling calm, but it was not the kind of good calm that you feel like when you saw a character successfully got away from the killer's grasp in a horror movie.

In this situation.

In the middle of the sea.

Three unique individuals were on the same small lifeboat with the same goal, the same destination in their mind.

Two high school boys and one dog were stuck on the same small lifeboat with an engine no longer functioned and broken.

Kamijou didn't feel like he should be scared in this strange circumstance but he didn't think he could feel better and put on a smile because of that either. If he could, he will want to scream the catchphrase that has stuck with him for life.

It hasn't been long after their departure from the nearest land. But after the engine suddenly broke down and burned, the trip hasn't been a very smooth one either.

Kamisato had tried to fix the engine with one of the members of the infamous family by using the tablet to connect to the network and look for instruction then doing the work manually.

So far, nothing positive has happened, the result was still the same.

The engine was too old and hadn't been used for nearly a decade so it was difficult to make it function again.

So…

"Hey, let's use this."-Kamisato spoke up as he found a self-contained unit under one of the seat's gaps.

Last resort, they used an electric trolling motor.

Kamijou placed the propeller part under the water while the golden retriever quickly connected the cable to the boat's leftover battery and controlled the device using the robotic arms built in his backpack.

It worked.

It actually worked…in 5 minutes before the battery mysteriously ran out.

"…"

"….."

"….."

So…

Now, the three of them are officially stuck in the sea.

"Such misfortuneeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!"

...

Although saying that they were stuck.

In their case, stuck wasn't the best word to describe their dilemma.

Being unable to move forward and being unable to know where you are were two complete different situations.

"Hm….let's see….."-Kamisato spoke softly as he placed a hand to his chin, falling deep in thought."The sun is still way on top our head. I have an idea, let's just wait a little longer until it passed noon. That way, I can use some of the navigation methods that my friend often use when she is at sea to determine the direction we need to go."

"Often use when at sea? Why do I suddenly have a feeling the girl you are talking about is wearing a large hat with crossbones symbol in the middle and an eye patch over her right eye like one of those ancient pirates?"

"Well, technically, Luca is actually one, a modern pirate. Some of the methods she used depends on the motion of the sun or the shadows casted by it. I can use a stick or something similar to act as a sun rod. Unless my tablet has the signal again, this is the only way we can do to find our way cross this place for now. To be blunt, I'm not an expert like her so I'm not sure this will be 100% correct but it worth to try."

"Heh, now that's a good idea you have there, boy."-the golden retriever complimented."I agree, for now, we should just take a short break and wait."

Kamijou, Kamisato and the golden retriever actually had a clear destination in their mind and their sense of direction wasn't really lost.

They still have the sunlight to let them see what was around them.

Basically, this was not entirely a dead end.

Using the towel to wipe the sweat on his forehead one more time, Kamisato reached both hands inside a middle size bag that he has carried with him when all of this began. He took out a couple of drinks and threw one to Kamijou before opening a can food for the golden retriever.

"….."-Kihara Noukan looked down at his food in silence.

"What's the matter?"-asked Kamisato and Kamijou also looked as they both noticed the dog's reaction.

"This is…..miso soup."

"It is, is something wrong with it? I know you can eat human food like any normal person, but if you want one for dog then sorry I don't have any."

"No, there is nothing wrong. It may not seem relevant, but I guess I could say there was this feeling of nostalgia filled my chest when I look at this."-Kihara Noukan touched the tip of the can with one of his front leg."A memory where an old teacher watched his student hums happily while she stood in the kitchen to make dinner for him every day."

"….."

"….."

To Noukan, that sight held an important meaning.

It could be something that related to the concept of romance that he understood.

It could also meant he was watching the growth of the student who has followed his path.

For a teacher and a scientist such as himself, that is a joy.

But…..

"But…..such beautiful moments like that will never happen again if we can't reach to the source, the core of this strange phenomenon."

Something strange has happened.

It has changed it.

It has twisted it.

The reality that occurs daily, that moment between the master and his apprentice can't no longer happen again.

The conversation stopped, silence filled the air as the wind has also stopped it track from when no one could know.

With little effort, the gentle small waves kept hitting the side of the lifeboat, making it shook lightly with the repeated splashing sound.

The two high school boys let their eyes wandered away as they thought about what had happened recently.

They, too, also in the same situation as the golden retriever.

Even till now, they still didn't know why things has turned out like this.

The strange "chaos" that broke out to the world where they live, without a warning, it turned their life upside down even more than before.

As they all looked back on the strange circumstance that they were in, a buzzing sound suddenly cut short their line of thought.

It came from inside one of the pockets of Kamijou's swim trunks. Putting the drink aside, the spiky haired boy took his phone out and saw a name displayed on the screen.

 **Hamazura Shiage** was calling him.

Listening to the ringtone, Kamisato slowly widened his eyes as a realization struck him. The brown haired boy quickly grabbed the tablet and checked the screen.

The signal is coming back.

Kamijou, not wasting a second, immediately pressed the answer button.

And before the boy could say anything, the person on the other side of the phone has already spoke following by a few heavy gasps.

"Teacher?!"-Hamazura's loud voice was dried, sounded like he was out of breath and panicking."Teacher! Where have you been?! I've been trying to search for you for a whole day but you aren't in the city, I tried to contact you but you didn't pick up until now! Where are you?!"

"C-calm down, Hamazura. I'm out the city for a while and why are you gasping so much? What happen?!"

"Something really weird is happening around the city in the past couple of days! I can't comprehend it, sometime people on the street is not acting like themselves! Even members of ITEM is acting strangely!"

"….?!"

"I don't know why but Mugino has been out there looking for you since this morning! It's night now and she still hasn't come back to the apartment!"

Somehow, even in this heat, Kamijou felt a cold chill ran all over his body when he heard that.

Just what is this bad feeling?

"This morning Takitsubo also went missing and I couldn't find her anywhere! As if things haven't been crazy enough, Fremea even forced me to look at her as a proper young lady!…*gasp*…not only that…*gasp*…not only that…Kinuhata is…huh?"

"Wha-"

Kamijou tried to say something but his word was abruptly interrupted by a very loud bang echoed on Hamazura's side.

Something was violently crashed like a broken wooden door being stepped on and snapped to pieces.

The three heard Hamazura let out a terrified squeak as a voice of a young girl spoke up next.

"Hamazura~, where are you~?"- **Kinuhata Saiai** strangely sweet tone came through the volume which caused Kamijou to sweat drop and nervous."It's no good running away from me, you know~. I just want to super watch a movie together with you~."

Small gap could be heard, Hamazura must has tried to hold his breath.

He was in hiding.

"Hamazura~, come out~. I've already bought two tickets for us now and I guarantee with you, this movie is super interesting~."

Movements was heard after those words was let out. It was so small that Kamijou had to switch to speakerphone to listen.

"Hurry up and come out now or I'll start searching for you."-footsteps echoed on a wooden floor."Are you in the bathroom?"

"There's no way I would hide in there, this is different from a B-rated horror movie."

Hamazura muttered quietly, unknowing that his voice also came through the phone that the three individual on the lifeboat was listening to intensely.

This is so thrilling.

"Are you behind that sofa?"

"….!"

The footsteps banging against the wooden floor continued and it became clearer and louder on the phone as each second passed.

Hamazura is in big trouble.

Kamijou was really worried for his friend at this point.

Suddenly, another loud bang kicked in his ear as if someone just threw a tennis ball and it hit a solid object with full impact, a door for example.

"Ah! Super Hamazura-y! Are you running away again?! Come back here and go to the movie theater with me!"

There was several loud slamming sounds on the floor and the atmosphere went dead silence after that.

Kamijou shared his confused looked to his two companions then looked back at the mobile phone in his hand.

"Hamazura…Hamazura, are you still there?"-the spiky haired boy called his friend with full of concern in his voice.

"…uh…..yeah, teacher, I'm still here."-Hamazura left out a sigh in relief."I'm glad I found something to lure Kinuhata away. Oh man, that was so intense. If she was in her right mind back then, I doubt I could trick her like that."

More footsteps echoed through the phone and the sound of a door opened and closed also followed by.

"Anyway, you've heard all of it, haven't you? You see what I mean now, teacher?! Everyone is acting strange! A few days ago Kinuhata wouldn't be so aggressive like this, but recently something in her changed and do you know what kind of change is that?"

"…..no…?"

"She started watching those A-rated romance movies and now she is chasing after me to force me to watch it with her! This isn't right! Just what the hell is happening?!"

Now that was an incredible change.

As far as Kamijou and the former Skill-Out's leader knew, the only kind of movie that could fully draw out Kinuhata's interest and enjoyment was those C and B movies.

That girl was even once declared that she has no interest in those A movies whether of how good their content are.

Just what the hell is happening?

Kamijou has asked himself that too and the answer was obvious.

"I don't know."

He didn't know. None of the two companions in front of him know.

"But don't worry, I'm trying to figure it out with some help. Just keep in touch with me, Hamazura. And by the way, where are you at now?"

"At ITEM apartment, currently hiding in my room right now. It's just a matter of time before Kinuhata came back. This is so bizarre, I'm glad I dropped Fremea back at your dorm. The maid girl who lives there is looking after her, I hope something like this won't affect a kid's mind any long…ah that's right, Index constantly asked me about you when I came there."

"…?"

"She said she tried to call you countless time but you didn't pick up, she was really worried about you."

"….I know…."

A simple reply escapes the spiky haired boy.

It held so small weight that it nearly voiceless.

Kamisato heard it, yet he just darted his eyes away and stared at the vast open sea. By now, if someone was to ask him about his friends, those in his faction, his reply would just be as weightless as the Imagine Breaker boy's.

A small thumping sound then echoed through the phone. The teenage boy was punching at something.

"Ahh damn it! My mind seems to get off track. I can't hide here, I need to find Takitsubo. I'm really worry about her right now but I don't know where she has gone to. She just mysteriously disappeared this morning. While I was trying to run away from Kinuhata and contacting you, I came to every corner in the entire District and I still couldn't find her anywhere in sight."

The boy with unruly blond hair sighed.

"For something like this to happen, unbelievable. If this strange circumstance last for two more days, I think my insanity gauge is going to shoot off the roof for sure. How come those normal days of me, Takitsubo and the group suddenly turn out like this?"

"I'm sorry to hear that. This Kamijou-san is not even in a better situation than yours, my misfortune seems to linger on my neck right now since we just have ourselves stuck in the middle of the sea."

"In the middle of wha-?!"-Hamazura spoke out loud in surprise but a small gap immediately came next, indicated that he just covered his mouth.

2 seconds….

5 seconds…

No more sound came.

On the other side, it was pure silence.

"Hamazura?"

"I hear someone mumbling. Oh no, don't tell me that aggressive girl is back. Teacher, I got to hide, don't hang up."

"Y-yeah."

Slowly, the creaking sound came through the speaking volume then went dead silence again.

It took on and on.

Kamijou put his phone down on the floor and waited.

Unexpectedly, the creaking noise echoed again and heavy footsteps happened rapidly as if the person on the other side was in a rush.

He must has discovered something.

"Hang on, that mumbling, that voice, I think I just hear Takitsubo's voice just now! She's in the next room!"

With a forceful twisting and a loud bam, they all heard Hamazura called out to the person in front of him.

"Takitsubo!"-a small thud added in between his word as he put the phone down on the ground."Why are you on the floor? Are you feeling alright?!"

"Hamazura….."- **Takitsubo Rikou** called his name in a weak tone, it was also caught on the speakerphone.

"Where were you?! You suddenly went missing this morning, I looked for you at every-!"

"….no…..!"

"Huh?"

"If you…hold me like this…I won't be able to resist it!"

"What are you saying? And why are you breathing so hard? Wah! Your face looks so red, too! Do you have a fever?"-worry filled in Hamazura's tone."Come on, let me check your forehead…..Uwah!"

Rumbling noise was emitted as someone's back hit against the floor.

"Uhm.…..Ta-Takitsubo?...why….why did you push me away?"

"This morning….I've been trying so hard…to avoid you…I don't know why…."-Rikou spoke between each gasp."But I felt like…if I come closer to you…I won't be able to…..control this feeling that is beating so strongly in my chest…."

Kamijou and Kamisato narrowed their eyes as they listened, something was wrong.

Something strange has happened with Takitsubo's way of speaking.

"Hamazura…I'm not feeling like…I am myself…please….don't….go near-"

"Hm, he didn't seem to be outside, just where did he run off to?"

"Oh crap!"

In that slit of second when another voice of a certain strangely aggressive girl reached the phone. Alarm bell rang in the spiky haired boy's head and he realized that Hamazura was no longer alone with Takitsubo.

Kinuhata Saiai has come back.

That blond haired boy is really standing on a thread now.

"Hamazura~."

"Shh! I'm sorry Takitsubo, but I need to hide us away from Kinuhata, please don't be angry at me."

"…..no…..you're holding me again…I can't…..keep calm…."

The hard breathing stopped.

"….."

"….."

"Hamazura~, I'm going into your room now~."

"What?! Oi! Don't just suddenly barge into my personal space!"-Hamazura quietly spoke through his gritted teeth in annoyance but his tone soon changed differently."Hm? Takitsubo, why are you hugging me? And what's with that stare you're giving? Why do I feel like it filled with so much passion?! Hang on, what's wrong with this ridiculous strong grip on my back?! Is this a punishment? It is because I let Kinuhata go into my room?!"

"Hamazura."-Takitsubo called his name in her usual monotone.

"Y-yes? Hold on, I think I'm starting to see weird things here. Is that a heart shape in your eyes?! And why are you gently caressing my face?"

"Hamazura…you're my boyfriend, aren't you?"

"Yeah….yeah, I am."-the boy quickly replied, slightly shivered.

"No one understand you better than me, am I right?"

"You know, somehow I have a feeling I may step on a landmine later on if I answer that. But either way, yeah, you're right and I want to accept that. Now shall we get back on the crisis at hand? I don't want to be found out…..wh….wh….what the?!…..wait! Takitsubo, this is too sudden! No, don't lean in so close like that! This isn't you at all, don't tell me you have become strange like Mugino and Kinuhata, too!"

"…..Hamazura…..you're mine…don't go anywhere."

"No….NO NO! Please stop this! That thin smile of your is so beautiful I can't handle it! Okay, I admit! It's true that I have always dream of this moment with you, but…..but! I don't want my first kiss to be like this!…..Wah!"

There was a loud rumbling noise and the ITEM errand boy seemed to have hit his back against the floor again. This time it looked more like he was being pushed down to the ground.

"No, Takitsubo! Don't do this! I'll be done for-"

"There you are~."

The deadly sweet voice of Kinuhata rang up through the speakerphone.

Kamijou frozen on the spot, the spiky haired boy found himself pale as he knew what comes next for his friend.

He grabbed the phone and screamed.

"Hamazura! Get out of there!"

But it was too late.

At this very moment, the fate of Hamazura Shiage has been sealed.

" **AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH-"**

The line went dead.

Silence returned and it brought along an enormous chill running up and down Kamijou's spine.

The spiky haired boy stared at his cell phone in shock and he screamed the name of his seemingly "fallen" comrade.

"Hamazuraaaaaaaaaaa!"

Kamisato and the golden retriever didn't say anything, little did they show reaction toward this turn of event of a certain former Skill-Out leader. The brown haired boy just shook his head and leaned his back against the round edge of the lifeboat, feeling the small wave splashed water onto his cheek. Noukan just focused his gaze on the canned food and quietly dig in.

The wind began flowing past the boat, the heat was still as hot as ever.

Neither of them said a word.

Kamijou gripped the phone tighter, another person has become the victim of this strange phenomenon that happened across the world.

No…..

"….no…."

It was not like something life-threatening would come out from it.

He can't think of it like that. He needed to put a stop to this, he has to do something before it really happened to his friend.

"There's still a way."

That line of word attracted the other two's attention and they turned to look at him as the boy dialed some numbers on his phone.

Kamijou pressed the call button and pressed the device to his ear.

A ringtone started playing, increasing his impatient as he waited. Shortly, it stopped, meaning the person on the other side is listening.

"Ah! **Accelerator** , Are yo-"

"About damn time you call me, hero! I've been trying to call you throughout the entire f*cking day ever since some weird sh*t is happening around the city! Where the hell are you right now?!"-the strongest Level 5 esper of Academy City interrupted, yelling into the boy's ear. He didn't appear to be in a good mood.

"Forget about me! Hamazura is in big trouble back at the ITEM apartment, can you go there to help h-..…..wait, what are those loud banging in the background?"

As Kamijou asked that, he heard Accelerator clicked his tone.

" **Last Order** , **Worst**! Stop hitting the door and leave me be, I'm talking to the damn hero here!"

"No! Misaka won't stop until you finally change your mind to let Misaka come in and play the new gekota game with you, says Misaka as Misaka continues to put on the childish act to make her plan a success!"

"What was that?!"

"Misaka also suggests tou-san better let her in before this headache in her head explores! Too many strong feelings in the network, Misaka doesn't know obsession could be this much troubling to her so lead her to your bed and take responsibility!"

"Never! Beat it! It's night time now so be quiet and go back to Yoshikawa's room! There's no way I'm going to open this door and let you two in!"

"Are you sure, tou-san?"-Worst's tone was full of sarcasm."This Misaka knows too damn well that you won't stand a chance if this keeps going. It's just a matter of time before that choker on your neck runs out of battery."

Kamijou's shoulder drooped as he heard that. It sounded like the albino boy was using his esper power to barricade the door that lead into his own room.

Just like that.

The circumstance on that side cannot be deemed as normal anymore.

It was no different from Hamazura's…and them.

To think the strongest esper in the world would had to use his power to struggle in this strange circumstance.

This [phenomenon], how fearsome.

"….such misfortune….."

Indeed, it was.

"You're damn right, it is. Now just ignoring those two and care to explain to me why I have to spend the last few days in this nonsense?! And what was that about Hamazura and ITEM you just said earlier?"

"About Hamazura, you need to hurry! He is having the same problem as yours. I'm not in the city so there's nothing I can do to help him, I thought I could call you to-"

"Well tell him to hide in a bunker or something! It's already a pain in the ass when I have my own problem to deal with right now! Lately, the brat and the bigger brat just keep annoying me to no end, even Estelle is a real pain since she's not acting like her usual self anymore!"

"….?!"

"Sometime she steals a glance at me and then looks away when I turn to her. This morning, I told her to watch the brat and her face just burned red for no reason like those love sick high school girls in that shoujo manga the third rate lent her. Now she is outside, helping those two to gang up on my door!"

"T-that's not true!"-for the first time, **Estelle Rosenthal** 's voice rang up from the speaker phone."Master, I'm sorry if my action makes you uncomfortable….but…but…seeing you suddenly came home and locked yourself in the room like that. I want to know what had happened to you! I…I'm just worrying about my master!"

Kamijou sweat dropped.

Her voice sounded shyly stuttered yet forceful at the same time and the reason seemed a little cliché like those love-comedy novels Aogami used to read.

Accelerator was right.

For a girl with an unwavering, good heart like Estelle to act like that. No doubt, the chaos, this mysterious [phenomenon] has also changed her.

But….Estelle and…..love sick?

That was an odd way he used to describe someone…wasn't it?

The boy darted his eyes around. The other two still didn't show any reaction toward this, Kamisato looked back at the tablet and typed something on the touch screen while the golden retriever just finished his meat and lied down.

They were listening, but not as intense as at the beginning.

That was understandable…because it was too obvious that there was nothing they could do to help the albino boy, who was in the same situation as them, to turn this trouble around.

Until they got to the very deep core of this problem, the albino boy and the other blond boy (if he's still safe and sound) will has no choice but to keep struggling with this reality.

"Answer me, hero! Do you know what is happening with them and those people on the street? Is this magic or whatever you call it is doing or it is something else?"

"I don't know. Actually, no one know what causes this, I'm out of the city right now and I'm trying to figure it out with some helps."

"You what? Tch! Never mind, whatever you do, you better figure it out fast! Even if this isn't a life-threatening situation, I'll be damned if those brats breaks through this door. My abilities won't last long in another 5 minutes!"

Kamijou's jaw dropped. Another dilemma was happening right there on the other side.

"What?! That is way out of the question! This Kamijou-san can't pull off something like that!...wait…..can't you escape through some other ways? I don't know, like…..a window? If I remember correctly, you can fly if you gather enough wind with your power, right? Why not doing that?"

"You think I don't think of that first when I barricade this door? If I can do that then I don't have to be stuck here for two hours! The problem here is I can't get out by any mean, that's why I told you to hurry! Worst stole my crutch! Even if I can get down to the street, I still have to rely on the esper mode in my choker to escape. Not to mention the brat can disconnect me from the network at any time so there goes the plan!"

The spiky haired started to find himself at a loss of word.

This "phenomenon" just kept putting everyone on edge, even Accelerator was not an exception.

"But more importantly…"

"…!"

"If I leave them behind, it will annoy me even more knowing those brats will keep acting this way without a stop."-for some reasons, Accelerator's voice was softened. But one could feel the anger was rising in his tone."This nonsense, I don't care who or whatever came up with this kind of scenario, if they like to toy with people's mind and emotion like that, I'll going to make them pay for making my life even bothersome than it already was."

There was a pause.

"Accelerator….you're-"

"Oho~, did Misaka just hear tou-san said he cares about us so much that he can't even afford to turn his tail and run away? Damn, this headache is getting even worst and Misaka's heart is pounding faster than enough already! Just open this door and let Misaka in!"

"Let Misaka in, too. Misaka wants to play the game with you, says Misaka as Misaka continued clinging to the old tactic to make her guardian give up!"

"M-master!"

Accelerator grunted slightly in respond and he kept quiet.

Of course, if anyone could read between the lines of what he said, they would know what he meant. That much was what he wanted to express.

Then, a small "click" dangerously rang through the speaker. Kamijou thought his heart skipped a beat when it came to his ear.

That didn't sound good.

As if the last defend line of humanity has been breached, a loud thudding noise threw away what left of the safety zone of a certain albino boy.

The choker on his neck has ran out of battery.

"Master, are you alright?"

"Well, well, what do we have here? Tou-san looks so vulnerable when he stumbled to the ground."-Worst's teasing voice showed that they had entered the room.

"Yay we finally got in, says Misaka as Misaka happily raised her hands up in the air! Now play the game with Misa-…hya! Why are you throwing pillows at us, says Misaka as Misaka couldn't understand your course of action?!"

"That's my line, go back to Yoshikawa's room and sleep! Gahh! Worst! Get off-"

The line was forcefully cut off.

It was amazing even with little strength his weak physical body had, the number 1 Level 5 still struggled to the end.

But how much longer can the albino boy hold? Maybe only time could tell.

Overall…..

That is just how it is.

That is just how terrifying this strange circumstance they were in.

It was unclear of how did this happened.

No one knew since when this has started spreading around.

This is the chaos, the troublesome "phenomenon" that was currently rampaging the whole world.

Kamijou Touma closed his cell phone and let out a long sigh. The situation was really dried, he really wanted to put all of this to an end. However, the questions was "what are they dealing with?" and "how can they reach to it when they don't even know the culprit or the thing that causes this?".

This was strange.

So far, after various encounters with the "phenomenon", he, Kamisato and the golden retriever can only came up with two theories, one of which Kamijou himself didn't come along well.

Either this was caused by a new type of disease that carries the ability to change the course of action of a person and bring out their inner desire, or…

In a more silly but quite reasonable way to say when you compare to what the world has, while sleeping, the cupids themselves has carelessly let trillion of arrows filled with love fell down from the heaven and they became twisted.

Both reason were closed enough to depict this reality, both science and magic respectively.

So far, those who didn't act like themselves all showed one particular feature.

Obsession.

To say it more accurately, it was something that closed to it. But anyhow, they decided to use that term.

"Obsession, when romance has been twisted, it becomes a part of humanity. When love is not recognized or simply a side that cannot be revealed yet cannot be let go, it grows and becomes deeply connected to those who carry it within them. Sometime, such romance is frightening. But other than that, it also shows how genuine a person can be when they devote their whole life to the other half, their soul mate."

Noukan's artificial voice spoke up as he closed his eyes while comfortably stretched his body and lied back on the floor.

"Romance and obsession, the two concepts and emotions that have so much different meaning between them but at one point, they will come to term with each another. A complicated matter."

The two high school boys stared at the dog then turned to look at each other with slight confused.

Was it really like he said?

Wait, more importantly…..

"I'm confused, what does this has anything to do with romance?"-said the dense spiky haired boy."Does people really act that way right now, I mean love? Somehow, Kamijou-san finds himself hardly understood what you said. When you put it like that, it seems this entire [phenomenon] that happens around the world is not that dangerous at all. It was like back then when you said about the theory where the cupid let their arrows run free and make the Earth a place filled with "dere" and harmony. Romance? Sorry, Kamijou-san still won't buy that, there must be something else in this odd circumstance."

A long sigh escaped Kamisato as the boy said that.

"Kamijou-kun, you really are clueless, you know that?"

"Huh?"

"Don't you know? Obsession is another part of romance."

"…"-once again, the dense boy that has stopped WW3 with just a fist slowly raised his eyebrows in doubt."Since when-"

"Don't ask me since when did I know this. Maybe it would be simpler if I explain his words in this way."-Kamisato crossed his arm and gazed down at the floor. A few seconds later, he looked up to Kamijou with a serious expression."…say, Kamijou-kun. Have you ever heard of the term **yandere**?"

Kamijou's blue eyes widened a bit.

"…..yan…..yandere? Of course."

"Good, think of it like this. When a yandere has feeling for you, what do you think they will do?"

Kamijou didn't respond, but instead he gulped which didn't go unnoticed by the brown haired boy.

Taking that as a cue, the wielder of the World Rejecter continued.

"When a yandere falls in love, they will take any changes to step into your life and make you notice them. Their feeling toward you is so genuine and strong that if one second they know you spend time with another boy/girl beside from them no matter how short it is, that feeling will turn into jealousy and from there, obsession will be born. They will do everything in their power to keep you for themselves for the rest of your life and you don't have a choices."

"…."

"In a way, this [phenomenon] also makes people act in a similar way like a yandere but not as serious and dangerous as it is. Obsession doesn't necessary bear from love alone, it also comes from admiration, idolization, etc. That's all."

Kamijou exhaled through his nose and he closed his eyes, likely to be in deep thought. Kamisato blinked at the boy's reaction to this and waited.

"….hm…..hey, Kamisato…"

"What it is?"

"Does anyone in your faction is actually a yandere?"

For some reason, the brown haired boy flinched lightly and averted his eyes to the side.

"...n…..no….not really. Even if there is, I don't think they will go this extreme. Why do you ask?"

"You seem to know a lot about this."

"You have no idea, Kamijou-kun."

"…..?"

"I only know that term from recently. You don't know how terrified it was to see many girls sat next to your bed with a pair of eyes looking at you as if you were their prey when you woke up in the morning."

Kamijou raised an eyebrow at the brown haired boy's word. From the sound of it, it really was kind of scary.

The Kamisato Faction was about more than a hundred of members. If that many people come to your room and watch your sleeping face in the morning, surely such a sight will give you a heart attack.

The spiky haired boy hung his head backward and thought about his companion's story.

"Yandere and obsession, huh? Just so you know, this Kamijou-san also experienced something like that before, it might not even close to the term but it was similar. And I don't think I have told you this yet."

"Oh really?"-Kamisato stared at him in doubt with a pair of half-opened eyes."Let me hear it then."

With a cough to clear his throat, Kamijou calmly told the story of himself.

"It happened on a certain day…"

"….."

While the boy was having a conversation, Noukan just lied at the back of the lifeboat and listened to their amusing talk.

To think that these two were once against each other. Truly, beside from romance, life was full of interesting developments that no one can foresee.

Imagine Breaker and World Rejecter.

Kamijou Touma and Kamisato Kakeru.

The two powers that fiercely oppose to each other, wielded by the two boys that fate has made them become the counterpart of one another.

Here they are, arguing about yan-something and the strange [phenomenon].

Not only that, their companion on this journey to "nowhere" was him. Not anyone else…..but him, a member of the infamous family that has devoted everything into science without a care of others life and safety, who was supposed to be the one that stood on the "far side" that those two boys couldn't never reach it with their right hand.

The golden retriever let out a short yawn before he looked back at those two boys again. If his face could form an expression, it would be a thin smile.

Fate really works in a strange way, doesn't it?

A moment like this was considered to be quite rare.

Perhaps, it was the sudden change of this reality that has made all of this possible.

Depending on how much their life is affected by many factors from the outside, people can change to adapt to the environment around them. That entire progress happens without them noticing it.

So…

It may has been a little, but perhaps….those two high school boys you can find anywhere has indeed changed their way of interacting with each other.

….

"Like I said, that is not even close or similar to my case! How many more time do I have to make my word get through your thick skull, huh?!"

"Not even close?! Are you telling me Index's habit of biting me whenever I didn't make breakfast, lunch, dinner and extra meal in time for her is not because of her obsession with food?! All those chasing with Biribiri from time to time is not because of her obsession with victory and wanting to retain her pride?! The same goes with Mugino and that ojou-sama?!"

"Not those kind of obsessions…it's not even close to the term…no, maybe except the last two. Anyway, no matter how you look at it, your nun just loves to eat and that Railgun girl is totally head over heel with you!"

"As if something like that could happen. Whenever I do something that is wrong to her, which I don't know why it is wrong…to her, she throws a lightning at me without a warning, where is the romance in that?! And mind you, when things became this way, Index's bite is even more deadly than that of a vicious piranha!"

"You do realize that Index nun bites you is because that is her way of showing you her affection, right!? How come you don't understand what those action means when you yourself have been living together with her in your dorm for nearly half a year? Just how dense can you be?!"

"Just because you have hundreds of girl who ready to follow you to the end of the world, that doesn't mean you can get the right to say others are dense, Mr. Popular! You know how my right hand works considering it even negates the red string of fate. As long as my misfortune keeps making my life a mess, no girl will like this poor Kamijou Touma! By the way, I see Index as an important friend!"

"That's irrelevant and the red string of fate doesn't work like that! You completely understand it backward!"

"…."

The golden retriever watched in silence as the spiky haired boy and the brown haired boy were glaring furiously at each other like they were about to clash.

Perhaps…he should take that back.

Deep down, these two boys probably haven't changed at all…their point of view about their romance, of course.

"This is such a waste of time arguing with you. Now, I'm officially can't get you at all! You know how that mini sized Magic God Othinus felt when you were in Denmark with her. You understood through and through what I felt when you pulled me out from my "new world". You care about the people around you, you can totally understand and feel the pain of others yet why are you so obvious to the girls' affections toward you? It was so clear that even an outsider like me can see it with just a glimpse, it's not that hard to notice!"

"Like I told you, there's no way I have someone who…..likes….me."-Kamijou's voice trailed off as he just recalled something in his mind."…..maybe…."

"….?"

Kamisato raised an eyebrow at him with a question mark danced on his head when the spiky haired boy suddenly went all silent. Kamijou blinked for a moment then shook his head as if trying to discard the thoughts.

Knowing what those reactions meant, Kamisato took the chance to push the topic further.

"Finally, now you notice that there is someone who likes you, correct?"

Kamijou didn't answer, he crossed his arm then tilted his head to the side, frowning in all seriousness.

"….that time….does that means Shokuhou and Kumokawa-senpai…even Mitsuari...….no…..maybe…."-the boy mumbled.

"…?"

The boy closed his eyes and slowly opened. The idea about what Kamisato said has formed, beginning to reveal in his mind.

"Yup, there's nothing wrong about it. Kamijou-san doesn't have anyone that likes him."

A tick mark popped out on Kamisato's forehead.

"Honestly, Kamijou! You are so dense! If you're stubbornly denying the fact, then let me tell you this!"-Kamisato pointed a finger at him which surprised the boy."The entire world is filled with the strange [phenomenon] that drives out everything in every corner of human's inner desire. Sooner or later, before all of this ends, those that have been interacted with you, both Magic and Science, will do everything to find you, to get in touch with you and satisfy the desires of them, so keep on hold to your belief then and you'll be surprised how wrong you are with that kind of thought!"

"Why are you saying like I have a harem?"

"You do have a harem!"

"Sorry, but that only applies to you. This Kamijou-san doesn't have a harem."

The spiky haired boy is going to be so hopeless in romance at this rate.

"Ahh! You're so hopeless, do you wish for a new world?!"

"Bring it on! I'll break your illusion!"

Both grabbed the collar of the boy in front of them as spark flying everywhere from their eyes contact. Around them, an imaginably immense aura also flew out from their body.

Noukan began sitting up and approached them. Even though their talk about romance and harem was quite amusing, but if a fight between those two boys was about to breakout, he will need to intervene this to prevent his companions from beating themselves up before they could even reach the land.

"Now, now, you two. Kamisato-kun, romance is a complex matter sometime so there's no need to push Kamijou-kun to understand it. It's nearly pass noon now so let's stop this and get back to the situation at hand, shall we?"

The artificial voice calm the aura down as the two still stare at each other with their piercing gaze slowly softened.

Kamijou released Kamisato from his grasp first but that act didn't go with silence alone.

"Let me say this to you one more time, Kamisato. It's true that I've extended my hand to save a lot of people, I don't know why most of them are girl but they hold no affection toward me and before all of this ends, I'll prove to you that fact is true."

"Ho~, are you sure you can prove it? The answer is already as clear as day."

"I'm sure because I don't have a harem."

A familiar buzzing sound echoed in the air.

The cell phone in Kamijou's hand rang immediately after he finished those words.

The boy opened his phone to see the caller ID and his eyes widened a bit.

Surprisingly, it was not a call, it was an email. A message has been sent to him and the sender was…

"Mitsuari?"

Opening the email box section, Kamijou blinked one…then twice…then…..

Kamisato and the golden retriever stared at the boy, slightly wondering what was the boy reading by the expression on his face.

For some reason, Kamijou's face was pale…..really pale.

On the small screen, displayed a numbers that presented the terror of his misfortune.

Sweat streamed down Kamijou's head like river as he looked. Taking a few moments to gather himself, his shivering finger pressed the read mail button.

These were the recently sent messages.

[Mitsuari]

(Kamijou-kun, where are you? I couldn't find you at your school and your dorm.)

(Your classmate said you was absent from school. Are you going to somewhere outside the city?)

(I couldn't call you at all? Are you in some kind of trouble again? Or are you busy saving another girl?! Please reply to me!)

(Why didn't you reply to me? I'm waiting…..)

[Misaka (Misachu)]

(Idiot, There is this new product of the gekota franchise and I need your help to get it. Are you free tomorrow?)

(Hey, why can't I get in touch with you? I came to your school but the teachers there said you haven't come to class lately, and what is this about you on the verge of repeating a year? Don't tell me you've been slacking off in study.)

(Why aren't you answering my calls and emails?! Are you in trouble?! Where are you?!)

[Shokuhou]

(My prince, I can't call you at all, are you busy at the moment? I came to your school but you weren't there, and why is there this rumor about you having a private tutoring session with some old hag? If you need, I can help you to improve your grade in study abilities at any time you want~.)

(You haven't replied to my call at all, I'm so worried! This thrilling in my chest just keeps growing in each minute pass. Are you in some kind of predicament? Please reply to me, my heart won't calm down!)

The content seemed to get darker as he read which only made his face paler than before.

(Kamijou, you got some guts for not answering my call. Now tell me where the heck are you?! Once I find you, be damn sure to ready for another rematch!)

(Kamijou-sama, I came to your school, your dorm, you sensei's place to find you but you don't seem to be anywhere in Academy. I even tried to find you through your scent but that didn't work out either, I can't pick up any of your trace at all. Have you gone outside the city?)

[15 missed call from Index]

The nun in white habit probably didn't call that much just by herself, Othinus must has been trying to call him, too.

In total, there were 194 unread messages and 112 missed calls (not including Hamazura and Accelerator's) that he hasn't touched over the past few days.

The windy cool breeze flew past the small lifeboat as three person stood still, two was watching, waiting for the reaction of the other one.

Kamijou's face went all white like his blood was being drained out. Slowly progressing what he saw into his brain, his lip shakily moved.

"…wh…."

"…?"

"What is with this many messages and missed calls?! None of the person in my call list sent me less than ten emails in one day! This is beyond scary! Obsession is so frightening!"

"Do you see it now, Kamijou-kun? Your harem is worrying about you, if they didn't have an affection for you, do you thing they would make that many calls and sent lots of email to you?"-said Kamisato with a victorious grin flashed on his face.

The spiky haired boy, upon hearing that, yanked himself out of shocked state and stared at the brown haired boy before darting his pair of blue eyes back to his cell phone.

"….."

Scratching the back of his head, Kamijou let out a small sigh.

"Well…this doesn't prove much that I have a harem."-was his reply."I'm their friend and they know that I always charge head first into troubles…..so of course they'll get worry if I suddenly disappear like that. After all, I left Academy city without saying anything to them. I felt a little guilty though, but in this kind of circumstance, that was necessary."-the spiky haired boy crossed his arm and nodded thoughtfully.

The brown haired boy can't help but face palm.

Don't worry Kamisato, it's still too soon to give up.

"Alright now, young ones, I think it's time for us to get back to where we left off. Let's concentrate on finding the right direction."

The golden retriever grabbed the tablet by the robotic arms behind his back and put it down between the two boys, drawing their attention back to the dilemma they were facing.

On the touch screen, a map was displayed with a dot was in the middle of the screen and next to it was an arrow that pointed to the north.

The signal has comeback.

The destination where they need to reach just ahead.

Time to move forward from this great maze.

….

….

….

But….

How can they do that now the engine is dead and the trolling motor is out of battery?

….

"How the hell did it end up like this?! Such misfortune!"

"Stop complaining and put more focus onto this, will you? I rather not doing this, too, but this is the only option we have."

Both Kamijou and Kamisato were under water, swimming. Their voice filled with full of exhaustion while their head was barely floated on the waving surface.

It was not the kind of swimming you always see when you come to the pool or the sea and soak yourself in the water to play around with the cool sensation that covers the entire body.

There was no entertainment or fun in the kind of swimming the two boys were doing.

Currently, they feet were waving rapidly underwater as they placed both hands on the back of the lifeboat body.

The two were trying their best to push the boat forward. Luckily, the boat they on was small enough to carry four people, which meant the weight wasn't too much for their strength. The fact that it was floating on water also added to the advantages.

The time was passed noon but the sun was still up high above their head.

"I'm sorry I can't lend you two a hand, for an old dog like myself, swimming around isn't appropriate for my condition."-Noukan spoke up with the usual artificial voice."In the meantime, I'll just observe the map and watch the surrounding for us."

"Yeah."-Kamisato responded."Give us a word if you see something in sight."

"Also, will you please watch the clock for us, too? Tell us when it's time to take a break from this."-Kamijou added between his gasp."This Kamijou-san feels like his leg is getting numb, so tiring."

After that, the "journey" went on.

The small lifeboat continued to surf through the cool, wavy-like surface of the blue sea in a slow pace as the two boys who wielded the most unique powers of the world pushed it with all their strength while the golden retriever stood proud and alone on it.

It was so peaceful, the sea was quiet. Everything remained as calm as it has always been even though "chaos" was making itself known around the world.

It was a pity Kamijou and Kamisato didn't have the change to let that calm sooth their mind, not until they can set foot on the location that lies ahead of them.

However, unfortunately, that peaceful atmosphere didn't last on for long as the sudden appearance of an upcoming problem.

"Hm? Hey, what is that floating things on water?"-asked Kamijou as he pointed a finger toward a short, straight object that cut through the water surface.

"…..?"-Kamisato's eyes followed and his eyes slowly widened when a thought struck him.

"K-Kamisato, it's that what I think it is? Please tell me that's not what I think it is."

It seemed the same thought also struck the spiky haired boy.

The object that they found, it was a dorsal fin.

Which meant…

A shark was coming right at them.

"Tch! Out of all the time, why now?!"

"Hurry and climb up, you two!"

Quickly following Noukan's word, the two began grabbed on the round edge of the lifeboat and pulled themselves up. The moment the "owner" of that fin saw that, it unexpectedly speeded up to shorten the distance.

The brown haired boy has successfully made it while the black spiky haired was still half-way. In the spur of the moment, as if misfortune messed with him again, Kamijou's handed slipped from the round edge, making him fell back into water.

"Uwahh!"

"….!"

"Kamijou?!"

Kamisato and Noukan turned to the side where the boy climbed up and looked down on the water. Bubbles popped up on the surface then it stopped, the "shark" was still a few meters far away from the boat.

Not wasting for any more second, Kamisato bent down and dipped his arm into the water, hoping the unfortunate boy would notice and take it.

"Kamijou, grab my hand!"

The fin was coming closer…

More bubbles started popping up on the surface, still no sign of a hand grab into his.

The fin was coming closer…

Kamijou hurriedly rose up and caught a breath while grabbed hold to Kamisato's hand at the same time. Noukan helped them by controlling a robotic arm from his backpack to grab onto the other free hand of the spiky black haired boy and pulled him up.

But….then again….

Misfortune wasn't really done to him yet.

As they pulled the boy up, the boat also wavered due to a certain amount of weight being gathered at one side, it tilted more than it should be and the result from this was….

The salty taste of the sea once again entered Touma's mouth and eyes. He waved his hands around frantically to gain back the balance and in the corner of his eyes, he saw it.

The "owner" of that dorsal fin was right in front of him.

….eh?

…..

…...

Pure silence lingered around the sea.

The brown haired boy and the golden retriever felt like they were sitting on a fire as there was no sign of the black spiky haired boy coming back to the surface. That fin also dived down and disappeared from their sight.

Fearing for the worst, Kamisato was about to jump down and use his World Rejecter on that shark. The sun was still up high in the sky so there was no need to worry about the length of his right hand shadow.

However, before the brown haired boy could even lift up his feet, Kamijou rose up from underwater and placed one hand on the round edge to keep him close to the boat.

He looked completely fine.

"Huh?"-the wielder of World Rejecter was dumbfound for a second.

"Kamijou-kun, are you alright? What happened down there?"-Noukan asked him.

"…..um….I think we were having a misunderstanding."

As the boy said that, the "owner" of that dorsal fin popped its head out from next to him.

It was a dolphin.

"So I was worried for nothing, huh."-Kamisato said to no one but himself, his eyes seemed blank.

"Worried for what?"

"Nothing, give me your hand."

Kamijou grabbed his companion's hand and was pulled up, finally getting back on the lifeboat. The boy left out a small sigh in relief.

The golden retriever and the dolphin exchanged gaze at each other before the former turned as he decided to break out the odd look the dolphin was giving him.

"Well, that's an intense moment I must say. It was a surprise to see this little friend here came to us from out of nowhere."

"Yeah, it was. But why is it the only one here? I thought the dolphin usually move in group."

"Not group, dolphin tends to travel in pods actually, Kamijou-kun."-Noukan explained."The dolphins don't always swim next to each other, they keep themselves known to their kind within a general vicinity."

"Then, was this fellow here got separated from his group?"-Kamisato questioned, he stared at the dolphin and placed a finger on top it long nose. The dolphin didn't react strongly to this, it seemed willing enough to interact with human.

"I believe that would be a really rare case if a dolphin truly got lost. You see, dolphins often communicate by whistling at a high rate since they always spread out in order to travel."

Listening to his word, Kamijou looked around, both eyes squinted to see more clearly if there were any dolphin in sight.

The boy turned his eyes in all four directions. He saw nothing, only the vast blue sea with its many gentle waves floated around.

"….."

…..nothing, so this dolphin really is got..….huh?

Something came into his view.

There was a small black dot that appeared out of nowhere on top the blue sky and slowly, it became bigger and bigger almost as if it was heading toward their way.

At this very moment, Noukan, while looking at the dolphin with Kamisato, suddenly jerked his head up as he also heard something moving in the air.

That black dot began to gain a form as it approached.

It flew in a perfect straight line like a fighter jet in its maximum speed…..no, perhaps its speed was even greater than that.

It brought a rough sound of something like a powerful booster and let out it roared like a demon tearing apart the calmness of this beautiful sea.

The dolphin dived back underwater as if it tried to run away from the sound. Kamisato also turned his head to the same direction as his other two companions to see where that loud noise coming from.

Eventually, it came closer and closer, close enough that the three can see a human silhouette in the middle of that black form. As the form visibly became clearer, countless cannons, weapons and a giant chainsaw were seen sticking out from its back, armor was added and attached to the limbs.

Steadily, it descended while kept on with great speed.

Three pair of eyes slightly widened in shocked as they all recognized the human silhouette.

It was a young woman with short black haired that went down to her shoulder.

It was a young woman wearing a cheap suit with lab coat and carried a great admiration for an old dog.

It was a young woman that now follows the path of her teacher and aimed to become the only unique existence in her family.

It was **Kihara Yuiitsu** with a modified **Anti-Art Attachment** behind her back.

"Senseeeeeiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii~!"

She called out to her teacher in a strangely alluring yet playful tone. Even from a far distance, it still echoed all the way to where they stood.

The A.A.A then made a full brake as it stopped right in front of their lifeboat, which made the water from below it splashed everywhere.

The force from that sudden stop almost knocked the poor, unlucky boy backward while Kamisato had a ton of water splashed onto him, making the brown haired boy all wet again from head to toe. Noukan apparently only had some of the water on his golden fur since he was standing behind the boy. That was a lucky moment of the golden retriever.

"Senseiiiii~, I finally found you~!"-Yuiitsu said, smiling happily as she floated on mid-air thanks to the A.A.A boosters."Suddenly went off alone like that, you had me worried so much~."

"…..Yuiitsu….."

The A.A.A began closing the distance between Yuiitsu and the boat, she was controlling it mentally. It circled around the side of the lifeboat, completely ignored the presence of the other two boys. After reaching a suitable range, it automatically stopped as Yuiitsu stretched out both hands toward the golden retriever and gently caressing his head.

"Sensei~, please don't do that to me again, it felt so empty in that luxury apartment without you. My mind was hardly paid any attention to my research projects."

"Yuiitsu, you…have heart shape in your eyes…"

Still in shocked, the golden retriever muttered but his artificial voice was clear enough for Yuiitsu to hear it.

"H-heart shape? Oh, dear, Sensei~, you're making me blush. What should I do about this?"-Yuiitsu brought hands onto her cheek as it burning red.

Both Kamijou and Kamisato stared at the researcher in a mix feeling of disbelief and dumbfound. Before them, a Kihara was blushing in a blissful manner, pink background sparkled around her and the monster known as the A.A.A behind her back.

To think that even a pure Kihara could not be able to escape from this [phenomenon].

No doubt about it, the world really is indeed in chaos…big time!

"How did you know I was here?"

The young woman didn't respond to Noukan's question, instead she reached down to the collar on his neck and pulled out a small chip.

"This. I use this tracking device to follow you, I put it inside your collar while you were taking a short nap a few days ago. I was really surprised when you traveled this far. I'm sorry, sensei, but recently I realize I don't want to bear the pain just like that day when you went off and came back mortally wounded."

Kamisato flinched and looked away awkwardly, one hand placing on his neck, rubbing.

"I can't afford to have something like that happens again, so I did this. I want you to stay with me, I want to make food for you every day, I want to take care of you, poking on your sleeping face when you sleep next to my chair after dinner. I want to do many things together with you as a researcher and your only one apprentice."-Yuiitsu held his head up and stared deeply into his eyes."That is my definition of romance to you, sensei~."

Those word wasn't belonged to a young woman speaking to her crush.

It was belonged to a young woman who was speaking to her precious pet, to the teacher she greatly admired.

Since the mysterious [phenomenon] could bring out the deepest, honest feeling in the heart, all of that "I want" were a part of her genuine desire.

It showed how much she cares for the golden retriever, and "caring" was one of the word that never existed in the dictionary of the Kiharas.

Kihara Yuiitsu has started to walk on the right path just like her master.

However, the young woman didn't aware. The way she looked at Noukan in the eyes brought a mysterious chill down the dog's spine.

If only that heart shape wasn't in her eyes, such romance would be the only word that slips from him.

"Let's go home now, sensei. I'll prepare a good meal for you then we can discuss about others ongoing science projects together."

"…Yuiitsu...…"

"Yes?"

"I can't go back."

A long pause occurred as Yuiitsu progressed that into her genius brain.

"…..eh?"

"I can't, at least not right now."

"Sensei, what do you mean by that?"-Yuiitsu began to get confused.

"It's a strange circumstance. As of right now, the world is in an abnormal state and I know you probably haven't aware of that. I went all the way out here with these two young boys to find the source that caused it, whatever it is, to put everything back to normal."-the golden retriever took a step back, broke out from Yuiitsu's soft hands."Including you, back to normal."

"…..."

"That's why I can't."

The young woman remained silent, her head tilted slightly to the two high school boys you can find anywhere. Until this moment, their existences came into her view.

"I see….I get it now."

Yuiitsu lowered her gaze, letting the bangs covered half of her face.

Kamijou and Kamisato began standing side by side with the golden retriever while they observed the reaction of the young woman.

All of a sudden, the A.A.A flew back a few meters, creating a distance from the lifeboat where the three stood. This action of the researcher caught the trio by surprised.

Yuiitsu then lifted her head up, a thin smile was formed on her lip as she looked at the two high school boys.

"Kamijou Touma-kun, Kamisato Kakeru-kun. After that event, I believe I don't hold anymore grudge against you two and I really appreciate that you all have been my sensei's companion until now."

Her gaze darkened, the heart shape in her eyes disappeared.

"Even though we had reached a peaceful conclusion, that is that and this is this."-the young woman flicked some strands of her hair over her ear."For now I advise you to leave sensei out of this trouble before I decide to use a stronger measure to force you."

The three blinked at her word then stared back at each other. Without a word, Noukan stepped back and went behind the two boys.

Kamijou and Kamisato both stood in front of the golden retriever.

Determination burned in their eyes.

The three of them has come this far, there is no way they could back out in the middle of the road.

So….

"….No…."

That was their answer.

"I see, so there is no other choices."-Yuiitsu closed her eyes, that thin smile was still on her expression."Don't hold a grudge on me then."

The A.A.A behind her began to change, every part of the machine moved at the same exact time. Countless weapons focused onto one direction.

Guns, cannons, swords, spears, chainsaw, large caliber rail gun, plasmas blade, missiles, lasers, flamethrowers, acid sprayers, gatling guns, liquid nitrogen emitters, tactical armor-piercing drill.

The extraordinary force that capable of annihilating fortresses pointed straight to the two boys on the small lifeboat.

"Now….."

The thin smile on Yuiitsu's face vanished as she spoke in a cold voice.

"…..Give me back my sensei…."

Unwavering, the wielders of Imagine Breaker and World Rejecter held their ground.

Kamisato calmly cracked his neck and a breaking sound of dry branch echoed.

Kamijou simply clenched his right fist and steady himself for what will come next.

"I hope you two have a plan to get us out of this predicament, the A.A.A right now isn't something that can be easily deal with just by your right hands."-Kihara Noukan, as he stood behind them, spoke.

The two high school boys slowly turned their head around to look at him with one small crystal bead dripped down their forehead.

Of course it won't be easy.

Everything around them….

From the distance to the environment…

To be blunt…..

 **They were at a total disadvantage.**

So….

As the goal was still further away.

The "upcoming problem" that looked like the final boss in a dungeon from a J-RPG game has come to greet them with a dangerous light in her eyes.

And while countless weapons was still pointing at them, Kamijou inhaled deeply and breathed out through his mouth along with a simple two words that can describe the situation in the shortest way.

"Such misfortune."

* * *

 **Author's note:**

 **Hi everyone, author of The Lost Light (TLL) here. I guess this is the very first note I made in this fandom.**

 **Alright, I want to say a few things after you read this one-shot. While I was in the progress of writing the new chapter for the TLL story, this strange idea suddenly came into my mind from out of nowhere and it stuck in my mind for a whole day. I couldn't help but to write it down first before I can finally get back to my other story. So...for any reader who is patiently waiting for the new update, I apologize for this sudden change.**

 **But don't worry, the chapter is about 50% completed so by the end of this month, a new update for TLL will come.**

 **(A small hint to keep your mind busy during the wait: it will take place during chapter 3 and before the BTL, it's about a girl who has never had the chance to meet with Touma again in person after WW3 ended and throughout the entire NT so far.)**

 **Oh, about the fate of a certain samurai ant? It will be revealed later on as the story progress. As for BTL chapter, if you've been wondering and confusing of what's going on in it...then it's your choice to find out what happen (smile). TLL is a mystery story so I'm not going to say anything that could spoil the plot and ruin the mood the prologue has set up. But anyway, seeing the readers' reaction to it, I'm glad the chapter has fulfilled its purpose, truly thank you.**

 **Okay, that's about enough of TLL story. Let's get back to this one-shot.**

 **Since this story also takes place in an AU, some details in the canon has been changed and I guess you've already known that after reading it. Adventure, Romance and Comedy are the main genre and there will be some actions (and you just saw it already). At some point, the story will have some serious moments but it will be lighter than the atmosphere in TLL. By the way, this is also a Touma X Harem story so...there you have it. Can the strange [phenomenon] help Touma's harem to express their feeling to him? Will he realize his way of thinking about him doesn't have a harem or anyone likes him is wrong? Let the story tells you. (Oh! Before you get excited, read the paragraph below.)**

 **However, as I said above, this is the new idea that came to my mind recently, I didn't know why it happened but since it has happened so I decided to write everything down in case I forgot it. Surprisingly, the more I wrote the more the ideas about this strange story popped up. But since TLL is currently my top priority, I decided to make this as a one-shot.**

 **So what do you think?**

 **Should I expand this idea or let it remains as a one-shot?**

 **P.M me or let me know your thought in the review section. It's up to you to decide, my dear readers.**

 **P.S: It felt so good to break through the 9500 words limited of myself.**


	2. Chapter 2: Stubborn-Chaos-Existence

**Disclaimer: I don't own To Aru Majutsu no Index.**

* * *

 **When love is twisted, obsession is born.**

 **When human's desire is exposed, "chaos" befalls the whole world.**

….

….

-Several days ago, a strange [phenomenon] has occurred and changed the world in an unexpected way.

It appeared and drove the order of the world into "chaos".

People around the world have been taken over, overwhelming by their inner most feelings and desires.

…..

…..

-In the middle of all the craziness that shook the world upside down, three unique individuals have went on a journey together.

 **Kamijou Touma** , the unfortunate wielder of the **Imagine Breaker**.

 **Kamisato Kakeru** , the main core of the **Kamisato Faction** and the wielder of the "burdened" **World Rejecter**.

 **Kihara Noukan** , the golden retriever who was the member of the infamous **Kihara** family, an intellectual and a gentleman.

….

….

-With a clear objective and destination set in mind, the three strived to reach for the source of this troublesome situation.

But the road they walked on has never been an easy one…..

…

…

-They were stuck in the middle of the sea, in the middle of nowhere.

" _No good, the engine is dead." Said Kamisato in an exhausted voice."And there is no reception either."_

…

…

-Their allies, the main characters who was supposed to be a part of the main cast in this strange story, were falling, one by one.

 **Hamazura Shiage** , whose fate has been sealed after finally getting in touch with the spiky haired boy.

" _No, Takitsubo! Don't do this! I'll be done for-_ _ **AAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH-"**_

 **Accelerator** , the strongest esper in the world, has had a difficult time struggling against this reality.

" _That's my line, go back to Yoshikawa's room and sleep! Gahhh! Worst! Get off-"_

…..

…..

-A theory was born during the trip. But of course, it was just a theory with no clear evidence to back up aside from their own experiences.

" _Obsession, when romance has been twisted, it becomes a part of humanity."_

…..

…..

-Despite Kamisato's effort of making his words get through a certain boy's thick skull with the thought of him truly has a harem, Kamijou was still stubborn enough to reject the idea and believed that the boy has no one likes him.

" _Why are you saying like I have a harem?"_

" _You do have a harem!"_

" _Sorry, but that only applies to you. This Kamijou-san doesn't have a harem."_

…..

…..

-Then, under the heat of the blazing sunlight, they continued to make their way through the giant maze. But it was not for long that the trip was interrupted by an upcoming problem.

 **Kihara Yuiitsu** , the young woman who followed the footsteps of her teacher and aimed to become the only unique existence in her family, appeared with a modified A.A.A behind her back. She was also got affected by the strange [phenomenon].

" _Even though we have reached a peaceful conclusion, that is that and this is this. For now I advise you to leave sensei out of this trouble before I decide to use a stronger measure to force you."_

… _._

… _._

-Altogether, the three arrived at the same thought, the same answer.

"… _..no….."_

" _I see, so there is no choices. Don't hold a grudge against me then."_

… _._

…

And then….

And then….

And then….

… _.._

… _.._

As the goal was still further away, countless weapons attached to the A.A.A slowly moved and pointed toward them.

In a total disadvantage, Kamijou uttered the word that described best the situation they were in.

" _Such misfortune."_

…..

…..

Thus, the battle against the problem that looked like the final boss from a dungeon in a J-RPG game began.

So came along the path to romance of a certain dense spiky haired boy…if he truly understood that he had someone who likes him, of course.

...

* * *

 _ **Chapter 2:**_

 _ **Heart Shape, Sparkling_In_the_EYES**_

 _ **Stubborn_Chaos_Existence**_

"Wah! Wah! Waaaahhhhhh!"

A certain spiky haired boy screamed at the top of his lung as he dodged an incoming missile by quickly ducking his head down.

Even though he just barely got out of the way in time, the boy could still feel the intense heat from the small, flying object roasted the tip of a few strings from his gravity defied hair.

The missile hit the water surface near the boat and exploded, creating a giant wall of water splashed everywhere in every direction.

Kamijou reached for the round edge and gripped it tight. The boat nearly rolled over due to the shockwave while thousands of salty dropped fell on his back like a heavy rain.

Hurriedly wiping away the water dripping down on his face, the boy made a quick scanned on his surroundings.

Next to him, Kamisato stumbled right on his feet as the brown haired also successfully dodged another missile strike while tried to grab hold of his middle size bag so it won't fell out of the boat. He has almost reached it but failed with the water hitting him, making the boy slipped on his foot.

Lucky enough, the bag only inched for a few centimeters. Whatever the boy has put in that bag and brought it here with him, there must be a lot of stuff inside that bag.

Kamijou rose up using his elbow to support him and gained back his balance and went to help Kamisato get up by extending a hand toward him.

The brown haired boy didn't say a word and just grabbed Kamijou's hand to gather himself from the fall. Then, the two boys averted their eyes toward another person on their boat.

Near the end of the boat, the golden retriever stood tall on his four feet while he looked at the woman, who was floating above the water surface a few meters away from the boat.

"Yuiitsu, you need to stop this!" Uncared for the heavy drops were soaking his golden fur, the artificial voice from Noukan's collar echoed loudly in the air.

Judging by the tone of his voice, one could say that it sounded like a gentleman was yelling with his voice filled with full of worry.

"Don't worry sensei, those shots were just a warning. I'm only forcing them to give you back to me." Yuiitsu smiled thinly as she responded in a kind voice toward her precious teacher."If they can give up right here, I will stop this and then we can come back to Academy City together."

Somehow, that statement gave out a very chilling feeling. It sounded romantic in some aspects but still pretty much chilling.

Noukan was about to retort back at his student's word but before words could echo from that collar of his, a right hand stretched out in of him, signaling him to stop.

It was Kamijou Touma.

The spiky haired boy stood next to him as well as Kamisato on the other side of the golden retriever. His right hand then formed into a fist, his iris burned with fire of determination.

The two high school boys you can find anywhere sturdy themselves next as they eyed the female researcher.

Even if it was just a warning shot, they will not back down so easily.

No…they will never back down and that is for sure.

"Oh dear, why are you two have to be so stubborn?" Said Yuiitsu in disappointment as she placed a hand to her cheek."Isn't this a total disadvantage for you both? Even if you choose to fight me, how long will you be able to last against the A.A.A behind me? Don't you see it, the inevitable consequence of this foolish act?"

"…"

"…"

The boys didn't answer, they just stood there, silently observing Yuiitsu as she spoke.

Noukan perked up his head to look at them, wondering what they were going to do now that the situation has become dire.

Knowing Yuiitsu and the events that they all had gone through, the golden retriever could tell that right now she had no intention in harming the two of them. However, he couldn't be so sure of that anymore, he didn't know if that possibility could stay the same as it was since his one and only apprentice had been under the influence of the mysterious [phenomenon].

Yuiitsu's desires was taking over her conscious, anything bad could happen at this point.

But still….as he looked straight into the eyes of the two boys, he saw it.

There was no hesitation nor fear in their eyes, it was pure calm, emitting a strong will…..

"?"

No, their leg were slightly shaking.

Was it his imagination?

"It's just your imagination, this is not the time for us to coward in fear."

"The boat is shaking from the earlier shockwave so it's a little bit hard to stand up like this, please don't get it wrong."

They both said simultaneously, but their leg was still slightly shaking.

Even though the sea was calm and the golden retriever hasn't said a thing.

Strange…..

Perhaps he should just leave it at that.

"Oh well, I will take this silence as a yes then."

Without waiting for a reply, Yuiitsu snapped her finger. A small cannon on the back of the A.A.A let out a flicked sound and moved, pointing its barrel toward the sky.

A small "bang" was heard, something was shot out and flew in an almost vertical line.

The three immediately went into caution and prepared for the next attack. Their eyes followed the thing that made it way up high above their head.

The object that shot out from the A.A.A was not a bullet nor was it a cannon ball or anything that resembled to any kind of ammunition. It was a simple, small round object.

The object stopped in mid-air then slowly, it fell down in a straight line.

Realizing what that meant, the three quickly moved away from it but Yuiitsu seemed to have predicted this.

"Don't worry, it's not a cluster bomb or anything that can injure you. Just stay on that boat and don't recklessly jump out."

Noukan stared at her in confusion as he heard that while the other two were still in doubt. Eventually, they backed away as far as the length of the boat can allow them to and covered themselves with their arm over their head.

Kamisato could have use his World Rejecter on the object but the environment condition didn't leave him much choices, the bright sunlight was getting into his eyes as he looked up and the shadow of his right hand only reflected under his feet.

It was almost impossible to use it on the object.

However, truth to Yuiitsu's word, the object landed on the boat and rolled around with a few bouncing like a tennis ball dropped on the floor.

Nothing happened.

"Huh? It's not going to explode?" Kamijou was the first to spoke with sweat completely soaked his forehead.

"Tch. I hate this, it's like we were being toyed at." Kamisato added in his comment, his forehead was also soaked in sweat.

The two were clearly not amused. Somehow, they looked a bit nervous.

Staring at the round, solid object, Noukan then moved his gaze to Yuiitsu with more confusion filled his brain.

At the same time, as the golden retriever did so, he caught the sight of the female researcher mumbled something like a number while put a finger on her lip. Seemed to have finished with her thought, she called out to him with her usual kind voice.

"Sensei~, look at me."

She waved at him with one hand raising up, all five fingers spread, opened palm.

Slowly, she closed back her thumb, then the pinky, then the ring finger.

"Close your eyes for me please." Yuiitsu smiled confidently at her master.

Noukan watched each of the woman's fingers started to bended down into her palm. In a second as the middle finger has fully went into the palm, a thought struck his mind like a lightning flash.

The countdown numbers of a time bomb.

…oh no…..

The golden retriever spun his head around and the artificial voice from his neck screamed.

"Quickly! Turn away, don't look at it!"

Sensing the urgent from his voice, Kamijou quickly turned his head away by reflex. As if the countdown numbers have reached zero, right that instant, the solid object emitted a strong light, strong enough to temporarily blind the vision of anyone one who stared at it directly.

Not only that, it also let out an enormous sound wave that disrupted the sound, the boy couldn't hear anything.

With no way to cover his eyes on time, the light entered Noukan's vision and the golden retriever could almost feel his view immediately went dark.

However…..

"!"

By the time they were struggling in that bright light and endured the horrible high frequencies hitting their eardrums, Kamisato has already launched himself at the thing with his eyes shut closed and grabbed the object with his right hand fully stretched out.

Although they could not hear it, they could still get a grief view through their squinting eyes. Kamisato's mouth was moving, certain words was said as the object lied within the palm of his right hand.

It was a familiar words.

It didn't reach their ears but they both knew what it meant.

The brown haired boy was saying….screaming the word out loud.

"Do you wish for a new world!"

Rather than being a question, it acted like a trigger of a great yet burdened power.

As the condition has been fulfilled, the strong light disappeared and the shockwave that locked the sound around them also ended up in the same state.

The solid object has vanished from this world.

"…made it…." Letting out a sigh in relief, Kamisato uttered in a dried voice, he looked so worn out after that reckless act.

"You two, are you both alright?" Noukan's artificial voice rang up as he approached the two, his vision was quickly recovered.

"…I feel like my eardrum just got being hit repeatedly, so much discomfort….." Answered Kamijou as the boy rubbed his ear to ease the tingling pain.

"Hm~, I see, I see. A new type of sonic weapon that blinds the opponent and disrupts the hearing ability at the same time with a decent level of high frequencies, enough to cause a tremendous discomfort only." The young woman nonchalantly commented as she tilted her head to the side with the gesture of pointing a finger to her chin."Fairly a good way to temporarily shut down movements unharmed within a short vicinity but not very much effective against the World Rejecter. It seems like Enshuu-chan still has a long way to break out from that title the family put her with."

The golden retriever raised his head at the mention of another member in his family.

No, in the Kiharas, to everyone aside from him, that person was not yet an official member of the family. Or rather, she was deemed as a failure.

"Enshuu? Enshuu-kun built that weapon from earlier?"

"Yes." Yuiitsu answered her teacher right away without giving it much thought. Anything goes for her precious sensei."As you can see, sensei. Before I got here with the A.A.A, back in the Academy City, I asked Enshuu-chan to help me modify the weapon system just a little bit~. She developed that sonic bomb through a few patterns of the others in the family. Of course, I also took my part in upgrading a few features of the Anti-Art Attachment. We did it together and I have to say she did a great job mimicking your thought pattern…..which made me feel somewhat jealous."

"?"

Noukan titled his head slightly at the sudden change of the tone of the young woman. Her voice came out so small at the last part that he couldn't hear it clearly despite his hearing is four times a normal person.

Having realized her speech was off the topic a little, the woman flicked back a few strands of her hair. Her cheek seemed to take a shade of slight pink as she just accidently let her feeling slipped through her word.

If this was just a normal circumstance, her sight would be something that came out from a romantic story.

Yet, unfortunately…..

The three person on the small boat near there didn't really see it that way though. Noukan was sweat dropped while the two high school boys next to him almost felt their skin went cold as they watched her gesture.

Knowing their history with Yuiitsu, it was understandable.

"Oh, my mind seems to off track a little, I'm sorry sensei. Let me keep on with my speech then."

Kamijou and Kamisato was wondering how many percent in that kind, caring voice of the young woman was truly the kind and caring personality that exposed from deep within her inner most feelings.

Compared to the number of time they had encountered her, this Yuiitsu was almost like a different person except the calculated, cold nature of a Kihara was still there though. But it didn't amount much, not like before.

Perhaps at that time she was so into getting revenge for her sensei that she had nearly lost her way of walking down the same path as the golden retriever.

Perhaps right now, in a truest sense, that kind and caring expression was a real part of her personality.

She has deeply showed her care for the golden retriever.

She had even once cried in front of him when he came back mortally wounded on that night.

And now, she showed her mercy as she has no intention in harming them.

For a Kihara, caring was not a word that exited in their genius mind or the world around them.

Yet, Yuiitsu still has that feature as a Kihara.

In some way, she has already unique in her own way being a Kiharas' member.

Deep down, the two boys held some believe in that thought.

Maybe they were naive, maybe they were wrong to hold such thought.

Then again, thinking that way didn't mean that they will easily let their guard down. When it comes to the true nature of the Kiharas, one should approach with extreme caution.

Yuiitsu, as a pure one, she still has that nature of her family after all.

Those warning shots and that sonic bomb from earlier were the proof of that.

But still…..

Seeing such a sight before their very eyes, seeing such a different aspect of the personality of a Kihara that they have never seen before thanks to this event.

It wouldn't hurt if they want to view their "former enemy" this way…..would it?

Either way, for a Kihara to expose this much feeling under the effect of the strange [phenomenon].

This "chaos", this [phenomenon] that made the world as it was now, how scary it was, the influence it brought to the entire world.

"Even though that was the second time she emulated your thoughts, she still managed to finish everything despite her body was on the verge of collapsing due to extreme exhaustion caused by a conflict between her and yours pattern, sensei."

"?!"

Understanding the meaning of the surprised look given from the golden retriever, Yuiitsu eased his worry with her explanation.

"You don't have to worry for her well-being, though. I've already helped her to get a good rest after upgrading the A.A.A. After all, the work took place two days ago, Enshuu-chan has been fully recovered by now."

"…I see…" The golden retriever felt relief at her words."Then, about that sonic bomb, when you said it is unharmed and only temporarily shut down the movements…."

The woman researcher followed right after where he trailed off.

"In order to bring you back while trying not to cause a ruckus with this A.A.A flying around the world and in case something goes wrong or not in my favor, I asked Enshuu-chan to make something that would lock away the moments and creates a diversion for a few minutes." Yuiitsu shook her head weakly."I also told her it's something that can't cause harm to others, taking into account that you might accidently get hit by it so I had her to adjust the frequencies a little so it can't cause you any harm as well."

Noukan processed those information into his brain.

So that was the reason why his hearing didn't get hurt, not like the other two boys.

"At first, I have no intention of using the A.A.A to annihilate a fortress or attack anything that gets in my way when I find you. And unlike the last time, I haven't fully adapted to the way this machine operates through my mental yet so it would be risky. But considering how it just worked a while ago, it didn't live up much to my expectation. I guess it was my fault at the time that I didn't explain enough details of what I needed her to make."

….at first?

Kamisato raised an eyebrow as he found a very "alarming" word during the young woman's speech.

"Does that mean no more warning shots? From now on, you are going to fight us for real and bring your sensei back to Academy City by force since we refused to give him back to you?"

Those words came from the spiky haired boy as he stood before the golden retriever and directed his stern gaze at the young woman. Just like Kamisato, he also noticed that "alarming" word in between her words.

However, Yuiitsu only blinked at him, seemingly uninterested.

"Fight you? In this case, wouldn't it be the other way around? Kamijou Touma-kun, you should have realized by now that this situation is not in your favor. It's a fundamental thing to know that with this A.A.A alone, doesn't matter if I can use a full 100% potential of this weapon or not, I can still easily flick you and that boy away from my sight like flipping an ant, you two are not much of a threat in my eyes…no, since I've decided to follow sensei's footstep on his path, I'm no longer seeing you both as a threat to me and I have no intention to harm you."

Kamijou widened his eyes a little as the last statements caught him by surprise.

So it's true, after that event, Yuiitsu has….

…she really has chang-

"But since you are getting in the way of my romance with sensei. Right now, you are starting to become a nuisance in my eyes."

Someone's illusion has been comically shattered.

"Apologize for even making me think good about you!" Tick mark popped out on the forehead, Kamijou yelled out loud as he pointed a finger at Yuiitsu, which made the young woman's eyebrows raised up in wonder."Dang it! What the heck just crossed Kamijou-san's mind a second ago?! Am I an idiot to believe that?!"

The boy held his head in disbelief while everyone stared at him in confusion.

His outburst was quite sudden.

"I knew it! I knew it would turn out like this! So much for wrecking my brain, trying to improve my opinion about that crazy family! There is no way my impression about the Kiharas will ever change!" The boy suddenly stopped and turned to Noukan, waving his hand back and forth, speaking in a very calm tone."Sorry, no offense, you didn't give me a bad impression though. This Kamijou-san actually believes you are a good pers…..dog."

There was a long pause.

"I…see." The golden retriever couldn't help but sweat dropped."It's….it's good to hear."

"Kamijou-kun." Kamisato called out after letting out a sigh, the spiky haired boy turned to him with a "hm?"."You really are an idiot."

Well, technically, he wasn't wrong.

"Yes, yes, I know." The boy also sighed in exasperation."In the beginning, it was naïve of me to even think about it, about-"

"You didn't let me finish."

"?"

"You're an idiot, but a good hearted one. I know how you feel about this because I thought of the same, too." The boy in his blue shirt and a towel hanging around his shoulder softly spoke as he turned his face away."I don't think it's wrong to view my former enemy like that."

"…."

Silence filled the air, a gentle wind raced past the peaceful sea one more despite the strange circumstance.

Before long, Kamijou had noticed a slight change within Kamisato after that event on December.

He knew but he didn't really sure what was that change.

Now, to think it would be this, and directly heard it from Kamisato himself.

It was something that the boy could hardly describe with just by words.

"Hey, Kamisato..." Staring at the brown haired boy, Kamijou put on a thin smile."…you…"

"…."

"You just admitted yourself that you're idiot like me right?"

Kamisato, the idiot in his statement, slowly turned his head toward the boy. His eyes was twitching, his facial expression was so full of emotion with a scowl.

"….you….even in this kind of moment…."

World Rejecter rubbed his temple after a quick sigh.

"Do you know how to read the atmosphere?! And who are you calling an idiot?! That is the last thing I want to hear from an idiot like you, Kamijou!"

This time, it was Kamisato's turn to hold his head in disbelief.

"Ahhhh! Unbelievable! I knew you were so dense but I never thought you would be THIS dense! Now, I'm starting to understand why that Tsuchimikado guy said your harem is having a tough time. I didn't believe him at first, but now those words sound so real."

"Harem? This again? Look, I know we talked about this before but think more of the situation at hand, will you? Just look at where we are, this is not the time or the place to talk about that topic….oi! Yuiitsu is throwing a cold glance at us. Hang on, why do I have a feeling she is focusing that gaze on me? Hey, is that pity?! Is that pity I see in her eyes! What did Kamijou-san do to deserve this?! Such misfortune!"

Ignoring Kamijou's nonsense rambling, like a tired boxer who has completely ran out of energy, Kamisato's shoulder drooped and hang his head down in defeat, both arms dropped to his side.

Another sweat dropped icon appeared on Noukan's head as he watched the scene unfolded from the side.

"Say, Kamijou-kun."

"Hm?"

The brown haired boy raised up his right hand, opening and closing its palm continuously.

"You don't mind if I ask you to wish for a new world, do you?" Kamisato looked up, shooting a blank stare at the boy and spoke in a calm tone. No, on the inside he was clearly not amused."Do you? If you do, just say the word, I'm going to ask Niang-Niang over there to have your ass kicked multiple times for being a thick headed."

The spiky haired boy a.k.a the dense idiot was taken aback by this.

A moment of awkward silence came.

Kamijou stood there, looking at the boy who was once or maybe even now his greatest rival with his mouth opened a small gap. The boy closed it back and his eyes closing shut, seeming to have realize something important from Kamisato's outburst.

The boy took a few steps forward, closing the distance between him and the World Rejecter. Seeing the boy approaching, Kamisato straightened his back and stood face to face with the Imagine Breaker, staring directly into his blue eyes.

"Hey….Kamisato….."

"…"

Speaking in a soft tone, the spiky haired boy gently placed his hand on Kamisato's shoulder, an act that seemed to be a little bit out of his character.

"….I'm sorry….."

Kamijou retracted his arm shortly after and scratched his cheek in an awkward manner. But then he put on a thin smile.

"…..I never thought…."

That smile….

"I never thought you would be so stressed out just by being called an idiot."

It was a sympathetic smile.

"….."

"….."

" **DO YOU WISH FOR A NEW WORLDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDD?!"**

" **BRING IT ON! I'LL BREAK YOUR ILLUSIONNNNNNNNNNNNNN!"**

Kamijou and Kamisato grabbed each other shirt while screamed at one another in the face. A dark aura began to emit from the two.

They didn't aware that the two unique powers wielded by them was right next to each other, in the distance of an arm length.

Two right hands, two opposing powers that could shake the whole world with just a single touch, were dangerously closed and exposed.

If the Imagine Breaker and the World Rejecter clashes, the right hand which represents the dreams and the desires of those who wish to escape from this world will surely take the win.

But when that happens…..

When the Imagine Breaker loses, "all hell" will break loose for the one who took the win and perhaps the entire world.

Learning this from a "friend", Noukan approached the two and two robotic arms began to emerge from inside his back pack. The golden retriever was about to intervene the two normal high school boys' silly bickering until another person from a few meters away has a better idea in her genius brain.

Just as the two was busy glaring dagger into each other eyes, a round, solid object fell down from the sky and landed beneath their feet.

The repeatedly bouncing sounds caught both boys' attention and they looked down.

"Ah."

"Ah."

Before they could even have the time to make a shock face, the sonic bomb "explored".

Noukan was quick to turn his head away from the sight so his vision remained unchanged when the bomb activated.

On the other hand, as Kamijou and Kamisato were at near blank-point within its range, the two were experiencing a not very comfortable feeling with their eardrums being hit violently by the sound waves the bomb created.

Their movements were restraint.

Kamisato couldn't handle the discomfort well, the boy lost his balance and fell down on his back, hitting the wet floor of the small boat.

However, Kamijou was still standing.

Thanks to having a great amount of endurance and possessing the fighting experiences gathered from all the battles of both sides, Magic and Science, in the past. Kamijou still had little strength to budge his feet and move.

While covering his ear with both hands and had his eyes shut tight, seeing nothing but the blackness in the other side of his eyelids, Kamijou bended down his upper body and stretched his left leg backward.

Having his sense raised to the max, the boy swung his leg with every little strength he managed to build in that kick and eventually he fell down on the hard floor as his other leg gave out and slipped.

But his effort wasn't in vain as the kick was actually hit right at the object with such accuracy. The activated sonic bomb was sent out away from the boat, hitting the water surface with a small splashing sound and disappeared as it drowned further into the ocean while the light it emitted slowly faded away.

It also appeared that the bomb was made of water-proof material.

"Kamijou Touma-kun, Kamisato Kakeru-kun, looks like you all were having a good time doing some tasteless comedy and ignoring me. I don't really mind that though but I don't like it when my sensei has to be stuck between you two and your silly bickering. You should know that it's troubling him." Yuiitsu said neutrally but seemed delight at the sight of them fighting against each other."And by the way, seeing the way you two acted just now, I think I just have another good reason to take sensei back with me."

The two normal high school boys had accidently added more fuel to the fire with their bickering.

"Kamijou-kun, Kamisato-kun, you two really should pull yourself together." After a short sigh, the artificial voice of a calm gentleman echoed next to them."I know both of you weren't serious, but at least please go easy on each other for this old dog."

Still lying down on their back, letting the blue sky and the bright sunlight entered their view, the two boys finally decided to sit up straight in a tired manner.

"You right, we weren't serious." Kamijou rubbed his head, dried voice let out from his mouth.

"Sorry, it's never easy when you told us that, but I think I can put up with it." Kamisato soon followed the flow of the conversation, rubbing his neck with one hand. The brown haired boy seemed to have calm down.

Tension died down, the two high school boys seemed to have calm down from their antic.

Noukan was pleased by the sight, the golden retriever then turned his gaze to his student, who was still floating above the water surface near there with the A.A.A booster.

"Yuiitsu, thank you for stopping these two hot headed young boys. It would be quite troublesome if you didn't interrupt them in time."

"It's nothing, sensei. Ah~, to hear those rare compliments from you again, I think I'm going to get blush." Yuiitsu brought hands to her cheek as it slowly took a shade of pink."Honestly, what should I do about this~?"

A small, wry chuckled can be heard from the collar on Noukan's neck.

Needless to say, if the face of the golden retriever could form an expression, it would be a gentleman who was awkwardly glancing to the side while trying to resist a wry smile which unconsciously formed on his face.

"Well, putting that aside…"

"?"

"Sensei, let's leave this place and come back to Academy City with me. Staying here with those two will only cause you more trouble, don't you think?"

"….."

"I have to admit, their right hands can be beyond this world, beyond anything that could easily make us Kihara to struggle one way or another. However….." The young woman in lab coat waved her arm to the side, stressing the important thoughts circulated deep in her mind."They are still just some normal high school boys who once got themselves involved with all kind of events set up by the annoying board chairman's hand, and they didn't even know a single thing about it, being played with their life on the line many time without having even a slightest idea of that."

Yuiitsu stopped and waited, simply expecting a respond from her teacher.

Yet, not a word were spoke from him, which meant she has touched on the right spot.

"Sensei, maybe that is not an appropriate excuse I could use to persuade you, but you know it's the truth. Those boys may hold reliable strengths to push away any kind of difficulty, they might had defeated me twice in the past. But those were just a mere small part of a ridiculous plan belonged to your [friend]."

"…."

The small, gentle wind stopped.

The atmosphere drowned in silence as the trio listened.

"Even if you tell me that all those issues were solved peacefully thanks to their effort and it doesn't matter if they were a part of a plan or not. Then I probably can't deny or argue with that, between good and bad, it's good, but between like and dislike, I would say I dislike it as it is a big problem to me. Maybe aside from the World Rejecter, Imagine Breaker can breakthrough anything in many dangerous and life-threatening situation. Still, that's won't be enough to convince me they are suitable to stand by you or protect you from all the problem that they could potentially bring it upon themselves, I won't overlook this."

Yuiitsu extended an arm toward her teacher as she spoke with a hopeful smile formed on her lip.

"That's why….sensei, leave them and please come back with me. I'm sure there are many things we can talk it out after we go back to our apartment."

"….Yuiitsu…." Noukan quietly mumbled his one and only student's name." Even if you say so, my answer and my decision will still be the same. I'm sorry, I'm not going to go back to Academy City, not until I find out what is causing this incident, the [phenomenon]."

"…."

Something cracked inside Yuiitsu's mind as she progressed those words of the golden retriever.

The young female scientist placed a hand on the front chest of her business suit inside a lab coat.

For some reason, Yuiitsu let out a heavy gasp. Her smile faded as she narrowed her eyes and closed it.

" **Sensei, you're important to me."**

The trio widened their eyes in bewilder at the sudden confession.

"Yes, you didn't hear wrong, because you are so precious to me. I don't want you to leave me like what happened on that night and go on to somewhere I can't never find you again. Just knowing you've gone all the way here is enough to have me worry so much for your well-being."

Another gasp escaped her mouth, the young woman then stuttered slightly as she hang her head down, hugging herself like she was mentally resisting something.

"So…..so m-much that I could hardly let my mind focus on…the project, the r-research….."

That was not a good sign.

She was enduring something like it was desperately taking over her conscious.

Then, the hard breathing stopped.

Kamijou, Kamisato and Noukan felt a strange chill entered their skin as they all knew too well what that meant.

"Ah~, but it can't be help, since I can't do anything good knowing you weren't around me, I canceled every projects I've been doing." Said Yuiitsu in an alluring voice as she lifted up her head."I want to meet sensei so badly, I want to hug, to stroke your fur and poke on your sleeping face, I just can't take sensei out of my mind."

The two mysterious, bright heart shapes were there in her eyes.

Yuiitsu has been taken over by her desire.

Yup, that is definitely not a good sign.

"Sensei, forget them and come back with me. I don't care if the world is in ruined or not, I just need to have you by my side."

If there was the same thing the trio arrived at, it would be a simple line of thought now circling around in their mind.

They didn't expect it but….

Who would have thought Kihara Yuiitsu's desire to be this strong.

Watching this on the small boat, the trio had various reactions to the circumstance.

Noukan was ready to take a step back and went behind the two boys for safety purpose. It was unknown how he was feeling toward this as his facial expression didn't change much.

Kamijou felt a sweat dropped down his forehead as he watched the young fem ale in complete stunt. Even though he knew this was coming but it was still amazing to see such "caring" from a Kihara.

Kamisato on the other hand just rubbed his neck, feeling somewhat sympathy for the golden retriever as he has also went through a similar situation like this. The brown haired boy seemed to have gotten used to the way people were affected by the strange [phenomenon].

Then…..

"I know saying all those stuff, expressing my romance for you won't do anything good to sway your decision. But if that is the case…"

With a mysterious smile flashed on her face, the young woman in lab coat and the A.A.A she wore suddenly disappeared.

The three persons on the small boat all widened their eyes.

Before they could even move their body or even think anything more, Yuiitsu reappeared right in front of them.

Kamijou and Kamisato realized what just happened.

It was the translucent mimicry ability of the **Element**.

Yuiitsu and her A.A.A had blended into the background like a chameleon and approached their boat with ease while the sound of the booster even got minimized.

This was one of the new upgrade features that she and Enshuu has added into the weapon.

Facing directly the companion of her teacher, Yuiitsu smiled sweetly with the heart shapes emitting a strong aura.

"If that is the case, then I just have to deal with you both and take sensei back with me by force."

She took an extreme measure like a true yandere.

Watching the young woman, whom A.A.A was slowly raising the massive chainsaw above its head, in this kind of predicament, the two boys who were the wielder of the most unique powers in the world let out a small sigh.

"….hey, Kamisato….."

"…..hey, Kamijou-kun….."

They both spoke and thought in syn.

…..well, what do you know…

Noukan's robotic arms grabbed the back collar of the two boys and pushed them, but they didn't seem to care about what happen anymore.

… **..yandere really is scary….**

As the chainsaw swung down vertically with full force, Kamijou could only utter a single word.

"Such misfortune."

A loud exploding sound then echoed all over the entire peaceful, blue sea…..

...

...

 **...ks!**

 **KshkshkhsSSHHSISHRSsSSHRHksJKKKSKSHHSJKKKhssHKHKSKHHSRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr!**

…

* * *

 _ **[Several days ago]**_

 _The air was thick._

 _The atmosphere was tensed._

 _Running across one of many long hallways, a certain spiky haired boy repeatedly gasped in a forceful way as the amount of oxygen in his lung had nearly run out._

 _He ran, then he stopped at a corner. Hiding behind a wall, he took a quick peek at another long hallway he was about to turn to. The boy moved his foot with max speed, he took a shortcut through a messy classroom and climbed over a broken window._

 _Carefully making his steps on the edge of a balcony located on the third floor, he opened the window of a classroom next door then climbed in._

 _The boy went to one of the desk and he halt his steps. For some reason, question mark danced on his head while his widened eyes continuously scanned his surroundings._

 _There was no one in his sight but many books and pens and papers were scattered on the ground. But that didn't matter, he didn't have the time to care about such thing in this circumstance._

 _The big problem he was facing now was….._

… _.my bag? Where is my bag?!_

 _His school bag wasn't here, it was gone._

 _With his school bag disappeared to somewhere, he made a run toward the door, bursting it opened and sprint through the hallways with his mind concentrated on searching his lost belonging._

 _Unexpectedly, he stopped dead in track._

 _Chaos…_

 _There was chaos everywhere….._

 _Before the boy could gather back his own senses, he realized that all four directions around him has turned into something like a war zone._

 _Sometime, chairs were sent flying all over the place, tables were pushed collapse on the floor, papers scattered everywhere and the long corridors were filled with full of people who didn't appear to be in their right mind._

 _No matter where he went, chaos always appeared at every single corner that he turned to._

 _The boy noticed his mouth was gasping for the whole time but couldn't find himself the strength to close it as his brain had been frozen with time. It was all because of the sight before his very eyes._

 _In A Certain High School…._

 _People was running and chasing after each other with all kind of emotion displayed on their faces._

 _People was happy, blushing with something like a pink background sparkled behind them and a heart shape can be seen in their eyes._

 _People was emitting a dark aura, giving out a threatening vibe like they was about to stab someone with a knife hid behind their back._

 _Inside the class room and outside the hallway, chaos revealed itself in full form, the whole place was a mess._

 _Somehow, there were even people acting very intimate in the middle of the broad daylight yet no one paid any attention to them, which the boy believed this was caused by something unnatural._

 _The students, the teachers, everyone was acting strangely for some unknown reason._

 _And in the middle of all that "madness"._

 _In front of him, a letter was burning and left on the floor, the small column of smoke flew out from it and disappeared shortly into the air._

 _The boy's eyes went wide in pure shock as he watched the flame fully engulfed the small piece of paper and turned it into ashes._

 _Sweat was streaming down his forehead, it dripped non-stop like a water fall._

 _This reaction did not came out from the shock of seeing the paper, which was once filled with the love of a maiden, being get rid of. It came out from the fact that the letter was burned by the hand of the girl who showed it to him._

 _Yes._

 _That's right._

 _A girl was standing right in front of him, she has a short brunette haired with a length that never reaches the shoulder and a headband tucked in between several fringes._

 _This girl was from his class._

 _Right now, their distance was closed enough that one only need to take a short step forward and they could already feel the warm breath from the other person._

 _The spiky haired boy had no idea what to do, his brain was still frozen in time with nothing to process the thought._

 _Nervous wrapped whole of his mentality, he shouldn't have felt this way._

 _Yup, nothing would have gone wrong if it wasn't because of the fact that this girl was still able to show him a very bright smile that almost equal to the blazing sun at dawn after destroying the things that she devoted all her heart into and conveyed it into many words._

 _No, more importantly, she burned it after showing it to him in a mere five seconds without a warning._

 _By any means, Kamijou Touma's instinct started tingling as a bad feeling rushed over him after witnessing such a sight._

 _Properly because he didn't seem to aware that the pile of ash under his feet was a_ _ **love letter**_ _._

" _Ehehehe~." Again, the girl in his class smiled brightly while a deep, red blush visible on her cheek."I'm sorry Kamijou-kun, in the beginning I thought I was too afraid and shy to tell you directly so I wrote this letter in hope that through it, my feeling will reach you."_

 _So the girl in the background said._

" _But I changed my mind, I figure this would be the better way to express my feeling to you. For some reason I don't know why, I feel like I could do this without that letter. Yes~! I can totally do this without fail, I feel really confident right now….so…um…."_

 _The spiky haired boy finally closed that mouth of his and gathered himself to listen. Surprisingly, the girl stretched out her arm toward him and gently grabbed his sleeve, held it tight with her slender fingers._

 _Kamijou flinched when the girl looked straight into his eyes, the heart shape in her deep, black one shined beautifully as it reflected an image of his own…his paled face to be exact._

"… _.please…." Soft, sweet voice escaped her lip."…..please be my bo-hyaa?!"_

 _The girl who was Kamijou's classmate let out a cute sound at the sudden contact between her hand, which was grabbing his sleeve, and the right one of the boy._

 _Kamijou had placed his right hand on her and let the Imagine Breaker dispelled whatever that made his classmate become this way._

 _The effect quickly took place as a breaking glass sound echoed in the air, the heart shape in her eyes disappeared and her cheek seemed to loosen a bit as her expression shifted back to normal._

" _Heh?"_

 _The girl blinked and looked around her in puzzled for a short moment before returning her gaze back to the boy in her class. The two exchanging gazes and while doing so, the girl slowly widened her eyes and panic, pushing the boy away, completely flustered._

 _Kamijou stumbled back a few steps and hurriedly regained his balance. He stared at the girl and this time, still filled with a little bit caution in his mind, the boy asked with concern clearly hinted in his voice._

" _S-sorry, are you feeling ok? You were acting really strange back there, you showed me some kind of letter that you wrote and burned it immediately after."_

 _The girl didn't respond and instead she just looked back at him with her face painted in a strawberry color. The girl who often blends in the background opened her mouth to say something but unable to do so as she stuttered uncontrollably._

 _Suddenly, she turned around and ran away from there with a "kyaaa!". Embarrassment must had took over her and made her act like that._

 _The spiky haired boy, however, had question mark flew above his head and he just stood there, scratching the back of his head, completely clueless of what just happened with his classmate._

 _At that moment, before the boy could lift up his feet to move to another place, the door of a class room nearby burst open and crashed down with two male students who appeared to be engaged at each other in a wrestling move._

 _Both were gritting their teeth hard with tick mark popped out on their head. Their hands were pushing against each other, no one seemed to have the intention of letting the opponent has the advantage._

 _They were fighting for something or rather…..for someone._

" _This time, I'm going to confess my feeling to her! That's why you will not stand in my way, you hear me?!"_

" _Not a chance, she's mine! And just so you know, she prefers the handsome, intelligence type like me!"_

 _The male student who was pinned down on the crashed door raised his strength and threw the other person next to the side before sitting on top him, getting back the upper hand position._

" _Hah! We both know I'm better than you when it comes to Math and Physic!"_

" _Better than me?! Think again! I completely out matched you back in the last exam, who scored 60 points in Math, huh?!" The one on the bottom spoke with a confident smug on his face._

" _Ahhh! Just because you have more than me 10 marks, that doesn't mean you are any smarter than me! We're both average student!"_

 _The wrestling match turned into a fist fight after that._

"…"

 _Standing on a side, Kamijou couldn't help but looked at the two in awe. The boy slowly backed away without making a sound and headed toward the stair._

 _However, before the spiky haired boy could reach the place, someone tackled him from behind and the boy fell face down on the floor._

… _..w-what…the…?_

 _Lifting his face up and rubbing his aching nose, Kamijou shifted his gaze to over his shoulder to see the person who was wrapping both their arms around his hip._

 _Unexpectedly, it was the girl from before, her head was resting on his back._

" _Ehehe~." The girl let out a smile in a cute yet strangely alluring voice and turned her face to him, that heart shape once again reappeared in her eyes."I caught you, Kamijou-kun~."_

 _With a stare full of passion she was giving him, the girl who was often described as the background girl in the canon tightened her grip around the boy's hip, which confused the spiky haired boy himself to no end as he had no idea what was she doing._

" _I'm sorry I ran away from you back then. I just felt so embarrassing after seeing you holding my hand like that."_

 _The girl loosened her grip and let go of the boy. Taking that as a cue, Kamijou gathered himself and sat up before turning back to face his classmate. But as he was doing so, an abnormal force grabbed him. Like the strength of a bear, with little movement, the boy was rolled over effortlessly and before he could do anything or even realize what just happened, he got pushed down on his back by a two pair of feminine hands placed on the shoulder._

 _Kamijou's blue eyes now filled with shock once more was greet by a pair of heart shape that glittered dreamily._

 _The boy held his breath in as he can't seem to find the right word to comprehend what he was seeing._

 _The girl from his class was right on top him with her red face staring directly at him, the gap between their lips began to shorten in a slow pace._

" _But it's alright, I'm feeling really confident now." Her soft hand touched his cheek and held his head still."I feel like I could do anything to make you always look this way, at me."_

" _Wait! Hang on! This Kamijou-san is not sure he understands what you are saying!" In panic, the boy held up both hand, making a sign "stop" as the girl dangerously leaned her face close to him."I-in any case, can you please get off me. I feel like this position we're in hints something that's clearly not right."_

 _The girl was startled by his action but shortly after, she put on a warm smile as she let go of his head and held both his wrists, pushing it from the way._

" _It's alright, Kamijou-kun. There's no need to be shy, I'm sure you will understand what I mean when I do this."_

 _The girl closed her eyes and shortened the distance between their face. At that exact moment, another breaking glass sound echoed in the air._

 _The background girl's eyes shot opened, the heart shape in her eyes disappeared. She blinked as she stared at the boy, who was placing his right hand on her head, in clueless._

 _Realizing how close her face was to him, a red color spread all over her face like wild fire._

"… _w….w-wha…."_

 _Stuttering and unable to comprehend the position they were in, she gave him a slap across the cheek, getting off him and vanished from his sight followed by another girly scream._

 _The girl seemed to have returned back to her usual self._

 _Kamijou sat up by using his elbows to support his body, the boy let out a sigh of relief after the "tense" atmosphere had passed._

… _..too close….._

 _Although….._

 _The boy brought a hand to his swollen cheek now imprinted with a red hand mark, it didn't hurt much. But strange, Kamijou didn't know why but somehow he felt like anime tear were going to burst out and flow down his cheek._

 _He knew his classmate didn't really mean it but even so, being slapped by a girl….sure is hurt more than it looks, both physically and mentally._

" _Such misfortune."_

 _Quickly switching his focus back to the matter at hand, the boy descended the stair and he continued to run as fast as he could through the hallway of the building's second floor in hope that his school bag was still around in this place._

 _There was a really important thing that he had put inside that bag._

 _A very, very precious thing that had took him days and nights to finish._

 _That thing alone meant life and death to him._

 _It was matter enough that because of it, he would even willing to participate in a one on one fight with the strongest Saint in the world and claim the victory at all cost despite knowing it was impossible to do so._

 _No, he'll make it possible if he has to._

 _That's just how important that thing is to him and he refused to let it slip from his grasp._

 _That was why, in this kind of situation, he needed to find it fast. If anything was to happen to it…_

… _..no no! Don't think about it! That's just too scary to even think about it._

 _The boy slapped his cheek with both hands to prevent himself from imagining the outcome if such thought would truly come true._

 _When that time comes, it would be even more terrifying than the time Othinus destroyed the world and threw him into countless nightmarish phases._

 _These was no time to waste, he needed to hurry._

… _..just where is it?!_

 _Why was his school bag not there in his class?_

 _Did someone took it?_

 _Where did it go?_

 _Kamijou's pace slowly decreased as he arrived at the last classroom at the end of the hallways. The other rooms were as messy as his own so there was no point in going in to search for his bag in there, at least he hoped so. He hoped that it really wasn't in those place._

 _If he had to think about it logically, he would probably right._

 _But if desperate time came, he wouldn't mind sticking his head in the whole mess and opened wide his eyes to scan even the tiniest dust while moving from each of the classroom in the entire school to search for his lost bag._

 _With that said, Kamijou put his hand on the closed sliding door made from plastic and steadily pushed it opened, peeking into the chemistry class with extreme caution._

… _hm? No one's here._

 _The room was empty with no one else inside. Oddly enough, it was a lot tidier compared to the other rooms which had been turned into the kind of place that left behind after a fierce battle._

 _Maybe there was no chemistry lesson today._

 _Or maybe before the room was got the chance to be used in today's lesson, the whole school had already ended up in chaos._

… _must has been that way….._

" _No! Just leave me alone!"_

" _Don't say such a thing!"_

 _Hearing loud voices, the boy turned his head to look at the source. A couple of students was chasing after each other as they ran past him, the person who was in pursuit seemed to be a female students and the other was…a boy?_

" _Just stop! Why are you keep running away from me?!"_

" _Please understand! I can't be near you, it's impossible for me!"_

 _A tick mark popped out the girl's forehead and with a mad dash, she jumped toward him like a lion trying to catch its prey…_

 _Remember, this was not an excessively exaggerating statement, the situation was just how it looked. In Kamijou's eyes, the chase and the expression the female student gave out sure looked exactly like that of a predator._

 _Successfully catching his leg, causing them both to fall down on the floor. The glasses which the boy was wearing fell off from his face due to the impact._

" _Caught you! After all that confession I had put up a lot of courage and my feelings into, I won't take the answer no from you!" the girl grabbed the boy collar and pulled him close to her face, their eyes made contact._

" _No! I'm sorry but I made up my mind! A guy like me don't deserve to be near someone as wonderful as you, this is not the way it supposed to be!"_

" _What do you mean by that?! I've been living with my feelings for you for so long, and today I finally had the courage to express everything to you! How could you not accept it! Didn't you say that you find me lovely in your eyes?!"_

" _I did! I did say that! Yes, I like you but at the same time I can't put up with the fact that a good for nothing like me can walk together with you, holding hand with you! And more importantly, that kiss you gave me back on the rooftop was so gentle and so sweet that I think I'm going to have a nose bleed….no, I'm going to get addicted to it!"_

 _Kamijou froze right on the spot as he heard the boy declared that loudly._

… _.eh? Did I just hear something I shouldn't have just now?_

 _The boy blinked at the couple, his face slowly burned up._

… _.eh?…..k-k-kiss? Those two has already…eh?...does that means…..does that means…..!_

" _Then…..do you…..w-want more?" Stuttered the girl in a sweet, small voice._

" _Huh?"_

"… _."_

 _Kamijou had no comment, now he just stood there in shock. How bold people had become nowadays._

 _Oh, wait…_

 _People are acting strange right now, aren't they?_

" _I don't mind giving you…..um….a…ano-another one."_

" _I would love to, but like I tell you earlier, someone like me is no good for you."_

 _A tick mark popped out on the girl's forehead, she gave him a chop right on the head._

" _Why do you keep belittling yourself?! You are more than what you think of yourself! You are a kind person and always try best in your study, you helped me and the others a lot before with the tests so of course that is where I began to have feeling for you. You might be a little ecchi sometime but I don't hate it since it didn't amount to anything that annoys us girls much."_

"… _." The boy remained silent, he didn't know what to say and Kamijou just kept staring, speechless."….I…"_

" _So please don't think badly of yourself. I like you because of what you are and these feelings will never change."_

 _The spiky haired boy felt the heat was spreading on his whole face, maybe it was not a good idea to stay here and listened to these two. Not to mention that strange heart shape symbol started appearing in their eyes._

"… _me too….I like you because of how gentle and kind a girl you are. For a long time ever since our gaze met back in the first semester, my heart has never stopped beating so loud and strong whenever I lay my eyes on you. I guess this is what they call love at first sight."_

 _Kamijou had no idea why but the heat was no longer lingered on his face. Now he just stared at the two love birds with a blank look._

 _Was it just him or the story of these two seemed kind of cliché? No, in this kind of situation, in the world where magic exists alongside science, can the word itself was suitable enough to be used to describe this?_

… _..putting that aside….._

 _How come those lines they spoke filled with so much passion?_

 _The boy finally realized after a moment of watching the couple. Of course, he should just make a mental note for this, everyone were acting strange which caused by something that he still had no idea what it was._

 _These kind of events were happening around the school. At this time, he shouldn't be much surprised about it._

… _..what was it that Kamijou-san was blushing about again?_

 _He asked himself that while he let out a short sigh and smiled wryly to no one. The spiky haired boy felt like an idiot for easily getting embarrassed after listening to those "romantic" words._

… _romance, huh. As if something like that could make everyone here to become all weird._

 _There must be something else that he might had missed, the boy…..the dense idiot believed so._

 _Just as he went into his own thought, Kamijou got yanked out from his train of thought as a soft moan reached his ear. He turned his head back to look at the two students from earlier and…_

"…"

 _And…_

"… _.."_

 _His jaw dropped with such ridiculous length that it almost touched the ground. Perhaps, there was no need to tell what kind of face the boy was making._

 _Kamijou just simply stood there like a stone, his body didn't move, even an inch. The boy seemed to forget to breathe for air as the sight before him had made his brain completely stop functioning._

 _On the hallways, the two students were letting their lip feel the warm of each other. Their hands silently wrapped around the neck of the other person as they lost in their own world together._

"…"

 _It was a sight that very intimidating for someone like him to be able to handle._

 _To Kamijou, despite being a healthy high school boy, his nature was still that of a noble gentleman._

 _Even though he knew they were doing it when their mind was not in the right state, Kamijou couldn't help but remained speechless. Talk about being strange, people were starting to do whatever they want without a slightest ounce of self-restraint._

 _With his brain went back to functioning again, Kamijou immediately performed a quick 180 degree turn while covered his ear with both hands in hope to keep his sanity in check from those "provoking" sound the couple was making._

 _As expected, this can never be romance or anything of the sort, so those words appeared in the mind of…..once again, the dense idiot who was quickly turning away from the scene, trying not to look back._

 _But not believing in romance was understandable for a person like Kamijou Touma. If someone was to put themselves in the same position as him, they would surely know how the boy felt. Everyone here looked like they were having no hesitation in exposing the inner most feeling of themselves._

 _Even if those feelings was at a romantic level, something just wasn't right._

 _What caused them to let out everything of what had been kept hold from deep inside?_

 _After the hallway was filled by a long silence, the newly formed couple broke out from the kiss and they smiled at each other, blissfully._

" _Ehehe~, I'm yours now~."_

" _Yeah, I'm yours, too."_

 _Knowing the embarrassing moment (to him) had passed, Kamijou glanced back at the two and he just stood there in silence._

"… _."_

 _From what he could see from the two of them, it was as if the background behind them was glittering beautifully with those heart shape eyes of them blinking non-stop like stars. Flowers bloomed around their feet as if wanting to add more feel to the atmosphere._

 _Of course._

 _There was no way such things could ever turned up like those special effect in a fantasy movie._

 _For one moment, Kamijou's eyes was focusing on nowhere but the two students, those imaginary image just kept showing in his mind, partly because he saw something that completely lied in the opposite of the "chaos" at hand._

 _For some reasons, the expression on their face felt so bright and cheerful. With that warm smile the two was showing on their facial expression, the sight felt so out of place compared to what was currently happening around them._

… _they look so happy….._

" _Oh."_

 _Having finally returned back from beyond their own dream world, the male student blinked and looked over the girl's shoulder, setting his sight on the spiky haired boy as he took notice of the gaze the boy gave them._

" _Ah, sorry." He raised up a hand with a bright smile beamed at the boy."Please don't mind us, keep doing what you are doing."_

 _Kamijou was slightly startled at the comment._

 _Please don't mind? No worry, the boy was trying not to but the circumstance didn't leave him any choice though. In this kind of environment, the lovey-dovey atmosphere the two emitted was so captivating that he could hardly ignore._

" _Come on, let's go back to our class. Now that I've finally conveyed my feeling to you, we are going to have so many things to talk about."_

 _The female student grabbed the other person's hand and gently helped her soul mate to stand up._

" _Yes, let's do that." Said the male student while he picked up his glasses and wore it back, a single ray of light sparkled from it."I would feel more than delight to express a lot of thing to you, too."_

 _Cheeks reddened, their hands entwined as they walked away. Kamijou's eyes never left the two until their back disappeared from his sight._

 _With the couple now gone, the boy scratched his head and for a moment he let out a long sigh and leaned forward with his forehead pressed against the door._

… _so confusing…._

 _It is, this is indeed confusing._

… _I don't understand….I don't understand any of this at all._

 _The way everyone were acting._

 _The chaos that rampaged around the whole school._

 _Everything felt so out of place that Kamijou didn't know how to piece it together._

… _this isn't making any sense…would somebody please kind enough to give this Kamijou-san a clue to figure out why everything turns out like this?_

 _Kamijou thought to himself as he placed the right hand on the door and straightened his posture, looking at it. Something was not right and the boy could feel it, it was like an invisible force was driving everyone out of their usual sense._

 _This right hand had helped him realized that, the breaking glass sound from earlier indicated that his classmate was trapped under some kind of a supernatural related power that went against the nature of this world._

 _Was it magic or an Esper ability? That much he could not tell._

 _But he could be one hundred percent sure about one thing, whatever what kind of thing or phenomenon that made everyone around him acted this way, it was clearly that its effect will never permanently disappear even from having been negated once by the Imagine Breaker._

 _That in and itself was extremely troublesome._

 _But…._

 _From what he had seen from the couple earlier, in some aspect, it looked like that this strange circumstance was more than what met the eyes._

 _After all, the smile the two showed on their face…_

… _.those were genuine smiles…._

 _They looked really happy with each other, and that also went with the background girl. The smile, the burned love letter, the words and the way she stared straight into his eyes with that strange heart shape really meant something that…that…_

"… _.."_

… _..um…..that…..how do you call it? Romance? No no no, definitely not that, it's impossible for Kamijou-san to have someone who likes him._

 _The dense idiot shook his head while smiled wryly. He seemed to completely cross out the love letter and forgot how much potential it could have proved him wrong._

… _genuine, that term sounds about right. But there was something else in her course of action that made me feel uneasy though and I'm still not fully understand what she said back then. Hm, hm…..what else then?_

 _Putting a hand to his chin and narrowing his eyes in deep thought, the spiky haired boy slowly came to a conclusion._

… _hang on, could it be….._

 _Yes, just a little more._

… _.that letter, she burned it after she showed it to me…and that tackling, that nudging on my back…d…did that mean…._

 _Almost there, keep going!_

… _.did that mean….._

 _That's righ-_

" _Someone is trying to scheme with me by controlling my classmate!"_

 _Kamijou said it out loud as he believed it was the most obvious, truest thing in the world. How the heck did he able to come up with this thought?_

" _So that must be it, this circumstance, this chaos, everything. I see, it all makes sense now. Darn it! Manipulating people's mind and my friend at that. Could this be magician's doing?! If it's so, then this is unforgivable…."_

 _The boy gripped his hand tightly, his fists shook with tremendous force._

" _I'll definitely break their illusion without failed!"_

 _It seemed that the road to romance was still a thousand light year ahead of the hero who had saved the world multiple times. Such a shame, there was not so much of a little hope that the term romance and its definition could get through the boy's thick skull._

"… _.…"_

 _Kamijou closed his eyes, thinking about something and while the boy's head turned up to the ceiling, both his fist began to relax and the fingers let loose. This time, the boy opened his eyes with his eyebrows raised up in puzzle._

… _..hm? Wait, even if I put it that way. It still doesn't sound right….._

 _The boy had just figured out something._

… _.if this really is a work of a rouge magician then….how come those smiles…..and that heart shape in their eyes….._

 _Who would have thought, maybe there still existed a good chance for Kamijou Touma to acknowledge the truth that he has always denied._

… _again…is it really about that? About the inner desire?_

 _The spiky haired boy titled his head to the side and crossed his arms in deep thought, which started to go on the right track. Although, the boy felt like he was forgetting something important, something that could fit into the picture as a whole but was still missing._

… _too many possibilities to think of, and not so much clue to reach for an answer either way._

 _Uncrossing his arms, the boy took his phone out from the pocket and dialed the numbers available on his screen._

 _Come to think of it, when this chaos began to spread throughout the entire school ground, he didn't have a chance to call back to Index to make sure the nun in white habit and the former Magic God are still alright._

… _..let's see, Index's number is…._

" _ **Kamijou-kun~, where are you?"**_

 _The boy jolted as a familiar voice filled his ear. He spun his head to the direction where he just passed as he recognized that voice belonged to the girl earlier from his class who tackled him to the ground._

 _Judging by the sound of the footsteps coming from the stair on the far end of the hallway, she was probably going down the stair and was looking for him again._

 _It seemed whatever that made her like this didn't seem to completely wear off its affect despite being touched by his right hand._

 _So it was true, Imagine Breaker can't fully negate whatever that filled the entire school with chaos and "manipulated" the mind of every human in the place it dominated._

 _This was not good (for him)._

… _no good!_

 _Kamijou stepped in the room and hurriedly closed back the door just in case. The spiky haired boy slid down on the floor with his back pressed against it._

" _Kamijou-kun~."_

"…"

" _Kamijou-kun~, where did you go?"_

 _The sound of her approaching footsteps was getting closer. Her voice became clearer as he listened._

 _Then, the sound stopped._

 _Knowing what this meant, Kamijou covered his mouth with both hands and tried to be as quiet as possible._

 _She was right outside this door. One sudden movement and no one could tell what will happen to him._

… _..such…..such misfortune!_

" _Hm? There's no one in this room." Said the girl to herself as she observed the chemistry class through the window._

 _Pondering for a moment, she grabbed the door and pushed it to the side, attempting to enter the room for a quick scan. However, the door won't budge, it didn't even move an inch._

 _Unknown to the background girl, on the other side of the door, Kamijou was quick to keep the door from opening with his pair of hands gripping on the edge of the door while leaned off to the opposite direction, using his full body weight to make it shut tight so the girl could not enter._

"… _oh? It's locked."_

"…"

 _The spiky haired boy held his breath in and listened carefully to the sound behind the plastic door. He could hear several footsteps echoed and the volume got smaller by the second, the girl must had left the place._

 _It became all too quiet._

 _Releasing his grip from the edge of the plastic object, Kamijou slowly slid the door to create a small gap for him to look through and watch the outside corridor._

 _In front of the room….._

… _no one….._

 _The boy opened the gap further and popped his head out, scanning left and right._

 _Outside the corridor…_

… _two boys are holding hands near the stair….wait a minute…_

 _Kamijou rubbed his eyes and looked out the corridor again._

… _a girl is carrying a boy in her arm…hm? Why is she carrying him in bridal style? And why is he blushing?!_

 _The boy rubbed his eyes again. This time he saw…_

… _Three masked person wearing female student's uniform are carrying a tied up boy over their head while walking down the stair…hang on, is that a whip one of them is holding?! Why is there a gag in his mouth?! Why does it seems like he's enjoying it?!_

 _No, more importantly…._

… _.what the heck did I just see?!_

 _Something is definitely not right with that scenario._

… _I must be seeing things. Yes, it's just your imagination. Relax now, Kamijou, maybe you are starting to feel stressed with all this crazy events in the school. Yup, cool your head down a little bit now, me. Losing sight of your own school bag is bad enough as it is._

 _Kamijou tried to calm himself down and looked around the place again, didn't forget to rub his eyes one more time before doing so._

 _Then, something strange caught his attention._

… _.eh? Since when did the back door of this room is opened?_

 _It was wide opened, so quietly and suspiciously that Kamijou didn't even hear the usual grinding noise that often comes from the plastic object. As far as he can remember, it was never opened by the time he reached here. And while the boy was wondering why, a sudden thought immediately struck him like a thunder flash._

" _!"_

 _Kamijou quickly spun around with his danger sense raised up to the maximum. The spiky haired boy had realized it too late as a shadow crept behind him and dangerously swallowed his entire being._

 _A pair of arms wrapped around his waist._

 _A pair of glittering heart shapes shined as it made contact with his blue eyes._

 _A soft, tender body of a certain background girl leaned on him like she fully entrusted herself to him._

" _Found you, Kamijou-kun~."_

 _Kamijou widened his eyes in pure shock at the presence of his classmate. As if flavored by the God of Misfortune, to make the situation….his situation….worse, in a moment with slight panic spread across his mind, the boy's hand, which was supporting him in his sitting position, slipped on the floor. The back of Kamijou's head hit the edge of the plastic door and the unfortunate boy let out a yelp while clumsily hugged his head in pain._

" _Ack!"_

" _Ah! Kamijou-kun, are you alright?! Let me see!"_

 _Unexpectedly, the background girl let go of him and she got off him, letting those tender, soft hands of her reach out toward the boy's head. Her tone was full of worry._

 _Even though the pain from the impact had clouded Kamijou's mind, that agony, that feeling instantly disappeared when Kamijou saw the girl's face from up close as she hugged his head._

 _Embarrassment might had been one of the main reasons that made the boy to temporarily forget about the pain since their face was too close. The boy could even feel her breath rushed through the skin covered by his natural black haired as she examined the swelling spot behind his head._

 _That was not all, as the distance between their skin-contact was almost approximately zero, Kamijou could clearly see the change in her facial expression. Before, the genuine, happy smile was still formed on her face for some reason that he didn't really know now replaced by a pure, worrying look._

 _And there was another change that the boy could easily distinct with his blue eyes staring straight into her slightly shaking iris. Oddly enough…_

 _The heart shape was no longer there in the background girl's eyes. It had vanished like it was never there, like the moment when his right hand negated whatever that made her this way._

" _Does it hurt right here?"_

 _The girl asked while she rubbed the swelling spot on Kamijou's head, making the boy jolted a bit at the sudden question and stuttered._

" _Huh? Ah….yes, a little."_

" _I'm sorry, I didn't mean to….."_

 _Her way of talking had also changed, it was like the girl had reverted back to her normal self._

" _No, it's not your fault, I just slipped back on my own. T-there's nothing to apologize."_

"… _.I see…."_

 _The worry in her tone subsided down and the girl spoke with a relieve light in her eyes. The spiky haired boy blinked as he could feel her grip on his head started to loosen and relaxed._

 _She was truly worrying about him and the boy could see that from the honest look hinted deep in her stare. Although what the boy felt from that soft gaze was probably hard to describe as he was having a mix feeling._

 _His cheeks was beginning to grow hot by the kind, gentle voice she spoke, it was so different compared to a few minutes ago. But his caution won't even drop down for a single bit because of that either._

 _Chaos was happening._

 _And most importantly, his school bag was still missing. He needed to put his full concentration on the matter at hand._

" _Um….can you please let go of my head? This position is kind of…e-embarrassing….."_

 _With the worrying look still hadn't faded from her eyes, the girl blinked and looked down at the spiky haired boy, whom head was held very close to her face as she ran her fingers across his hair to look for the spot where it just hit against the sharp edge of the door frame._

 _She was so focusing on the big bruise that started growing on his head that the girl didn't even notice she was pressing a side of the boy's head against her body, like an embrace. The girl's eyes went wide as well as a strawberry color began to spread all over her face._

 _Her grips on Kamijou's head trembled slightly. Small gap formed on the girl lip as she stuttered in a wordless manner._

 _Watching her reaction and knowing what could happen next, Kamijou prepared for a girly scream pierced through his ear and braced every muscles in his body for another hurtful impact. His knew his classmate was about to give him another slap across the cheek or pushed him and run off to somewhere out of embarrassment._

… _ah…here comes another one….._

 _Might be too late to reason or protest now._

… _brace yourself, Kamijou! Try to endure this, don't let your manly tears flow out if your classmate hates you for this._

 _Thought Kamijou as he closed his eyes, holding the anime tears in and mentally, physically prepared for the classic scenario from a rom-com anime Aogami used to force him to watch together._

"… _."_

"… _."_

" _?"_

 _The boy himself realized that something indeed came next. But on the contrary to his thought, what happened next was unpredictable._

 _The background girl didn't let him go._

 _Her grip became more firm on his head as she put more force into it and hugged him tighter._

 _Kamijou was puzzled by the sudden act. So to get more specific reason for this situation, the boy moved his gaze back to the girl's face._

 _And in that instant, he could feel blood was slowly being drained from his skin. Those mysterious pink heart shapes had reappeared inside those iris that reflected his paled face._

 _But the spiky haired boy soon found himself become less tense as the background girl didn't do anything, she just sat there, with one hand holding his head close and the other hand moved to the back of his head, gently ran her fingers through his gravity defiled haired._

" _Pain, pain, go away….."_

 _Kamijou was caught by surprise as the background girl gently rubbed the swelling spot at the back of his head and hummed the charm that has long existed and passed down through many generation in this country._

 _He had never noticed this until now when they were this close._

 _Such clear and cute a voice she has._

 _The heart shapes was there in her eyes, yet she didn't seem to have any intention to go over the "extreme" like those previous moments._

… _ah…_

 _Now that he thought about it….._

 _Why did she have to do all of that to him? All those tackle, nudging, smiling and that passionate look from before…..what did it mean?_

 _And why him?_

"… _..you…" Kamijou spoke in a soft voice._

" _?"_

" _Why did you have to go to this extend to….you know…..do all of this? Kamijou-san couldn't help but feel confused by it. And not to be rude but are you….really you right now?"_

 _The background girl blinked at his question. For a short moment, she opened her mouth but closed it as she was trying to find a way to convey something that hidden from deep inside, something that she had kept it there for a very long time. The small heart shapes in her eyes started to shine a dim, beautiful pink light along with the strawberry color that had already painted her cheek in red now deepened._

 _Kamijou stared at the deep blush on his classmate's face, having no idea why did she become like that and waited._

"… _ **..I wanted this…."**_

" _?"_

" _I have always been looking forward to this moment, being able to stroke Kamijou-kun's hair and hold onto you like this."_

"… _.."_

" _Ehehe~." The girl smiled blissfully."Having the chance to talk to your when we are this close. It's like a dream comes true, I'm really happy."_

 _Seeing such a cute smile beaming right at him, Kamijou could have sworn that he almost heard a strong "doki" sound jumped out from inside his chest._

 _Hopefully, it was just another one of his imaginations._

" _C-can I ask you something?" Kamijou slowly raised up a hand in an effort to discard the thought of his heart just let out a strong beat._

" _What is it?"_

" _I'm not sure if this Kamijou-san is fully understand of what you've been saying but as far as I can remember, we barely talk to each other in classroom."_

" _Uhm." The background girl nodded, her smiled remained unfazed."You are right, we never had any conversation or even spoke a few greeting words to each other. We meet in the same class everyday but sometime, there are some people that can be difficult to notice. Their existences are not that great or simply too weak like a blurry shadow moving between many bright neon lights."_

"…"

… _.difficult to notice?_

" _I have a bad habit of being timid around boys and I don't have anything special in particular, my appearance is not that great or outstanding either. So…." The girl stared deeply into his eyes. "To [that person], my existence has always been something that resembles to what you can describe as a background character in a novel illustrations. I am someone that can hardly be noticed like Himegami-chan."_

… _..that sounds like….._

 _As if having realized what the boy was thinking with the way he looked at her, the background girl pouted cutely and pointed a finger to his forehead before Kamijou could progress his thought further._

" _Ah, don't think I'm having a lonely life in this school, okay? That kind of thought is really wrong, I actually made a lot of friends in ours class, you know. Himegami-chan is also one of them, Fukiyose-san put in a lot of effort to help her have a lively high school life with us."_

 _The topic of their small conversation suddenly took a different direction as the background girl brought out two of their fellow classmates and began talking about them. At first, Kamijou thought the girl was diverting the attention to another matter but that didn't seem to be the case._

 _This was in the background girl's intention, and she brought it out for a reason._

" _Despite remaining really quiet and having little trouble in expressing herself all the time, Himegami-chan is still able to make a few progress and blend in together with everyone in ours class."_

 _The girl closed her eyes and her lip curled into a thin smile._

" _Back then, she is barely notable. And now that fact has changed, her presence has become more prominent lately."_

"… _.."_

" _It wasn't that long when Himegami-chan started her high school life in ours school, so as her friend, I feel happy for her, since I'm also an existence, a presence that could barely notable in a single glance." The girl reopened her eyes, the heart shape in her eyes shined a mysterious light as she gave a tender look toward the spiky haired boy."Yet unlike her, I can easily make friend with every girls in class, there are boys also but don't count ours class representative in."_

 _Kamijou's sweat dropped at the last statement._

 _Even though she admitted that she is usually timid around boys, yet she still said that she has several friends who was a boy in his class and outright saying that she hates a certain fetish king._

 _No, maybe there is nothing wrong with that. Whatever that had been causing and spreading chaos around the school ground, it must had affected her personality little by little._

 _Either way, he really can't deny it, the fact that no girls in his class has ever had a good impression on Aogami so this was certainly true._

… _.sorry, Aogami….another girl in ours class has added you into her blacklist._

" _Even though I admit that my existence works as something like a background image, my role is similar to that of a non-important, side character, it didn't take too much effort for me to be able to make myself notable in the eyes of everyone around me and so did they. Himegami-chan and my existence are nearly the same, we don't get much scene time and ours presence can be considered to be quite weak."_

"… _.."_

" _But in some way, there is still a big different between us. Compared to me, who is easily got noticed when being around friends, to [that person], Himegami-chan is the most notable one out of the two of us and us alone. To [that person], she could easily be seen and talked to in some occasions. Yet….. as for me, no matter how it looks I'm rarely ever see the reflection of my own image in his eyes or maybe none at all….to him and him only, I remain as a blurry existence that desperately reaching for a single chance in hope to make him notice and recognize me."_

 _In order words, she was someone that never existed in the eyes of the person she was talking about, someone whose presence has always been weak to be ignored._

 _Yet, everyone around her could see her, talk to her and thanks to that, she has had a lively high school life like her fellow classmates, the life goals which Himegami was striving to achieve. However, out there, outside the reach of her grasp was someone that she has laid her eyes upon that had a complete opposite reaction to her presence._

 _For that one person, she was set to be remained in the background and he had never seen the girl in his sight or barely notice her presence, barely interact with each other even though they always meet in the same room on a daily basis._

 _She wanted to change that just like how Himegami had and has been trying to through the help of the Iron Wall girl's._

" _I don't want to be remained as a background girl, I want to break out from that role, that vessel. I want to be a normal high school girl so I can make him notice me."_

 _It was her desire._

 _She must has really liked [that person]._

" _Saying all of that, it does giving you the impression like I'm envied with my friend, doesn't it?"_

 _The rubbing stopped and the girl brought her hand to his cheek where the red hand mark had partially faded, caressing it which made the boy slightly shivered in response._

" _Kamijou-kun, do you know who I'm talking about?"_

" _Heh?...ah….well…"_

 _Suddenly being questioning, Kamijou stammered a little while trying his best to reach for an answer and a way to break out from the girl's grasp now that he saw the light from the heart shapes in her iris become brighter as she spoke._

 _For some reason, Kamijou felt a chill crawled down his spine just by looking directly into her eyes._

 _Well, only he felt that though…ONLY him._

" _For…..for starter, can you please let go of my head? Being held up close and lying on the floor like this is really inconvenient for Kamijou-san to process his train of thought."_

 _Partly because his head was extremely, dangerously closed to her chest._

" _No, I don't want to." The girl responded while she shook her head in disapprove, the thin smile was still forming on her lip._

… _.instant reply?!_

"… _I….I see….but can you at least let me sit straight? That way, we can talk face to face and it's more comfortable for us to convey our own thought to the each other in that position, don't you agree?"_

" _Kamijou-kun, do you know the person whom I'm talking about~?"_

 _She ignored his words and went straight into the most critical fact. It seemed that nothing could ever bend her will in this state, the background girl was really determined to get an answer from the boy._

 _Knowing there was no other way out of this, Kamijou let out a small sigh._

" _I can't say that I know about the person you are talking about. But after listening to your story, I think I have a good grasp on the matter which you're facing right now."_

 _The heart shape in the background girl's eyes started glittering as if filled by hope. The spiky haired saw that but decided not to pay attention to it and proceeded with his word._

" _By the way, I've been wondering….."_

" _?"_

" _I have no idea why but from the way you put it. Side character, novel illustration, canon and all._ _ **It sounds to me like you were trying to break the fourth wall here.**_ Are you trying to break the fourth wall? _"_

" _I'm serious."_

" _I know, so am I."_

"… _."_

 _The girl pouted and she leaned her face closer to him._

" _Ah! Wait, wait! Why are you bringing your face close to me?! What kind of flag is this?! Please stop that, alarm bell is ringing non-stop in Kamijou-san's head here...hold on? Your grips on my head are starting to get a little bit too tight, don't you think?"_

 _The heart shape shined brighter which made the spiky haired boy paled at the sudden change. It gave him a bad vibe._

 _Again…..ONLY he thought that._

" _Wah! Okay, okay! That was a fatal mistake! I will be more serious from now on!"_

" _Why are you resisting? You don't seem to understand what I was saying so I thought this method would be more effective in conveying my feeling to you."_

" _Look, I don't know what kind of method you were about to use on me but Kamijou-san has a feeling it screams a lot of unhealthy stuff." The dense idiot frankly replied with a face that cannot be straighter than it normally could."L-let's just get back to the topic, shall we?"_

 _Didn't seem to satisfy with his word, the girl reluctantly nodded. A dim color took shape and covered the pink heart shapes in her iris._

 _Her mood must had went down._

 _But then again, Kamijou Touma was the kind of dense protagonist that is always clueless when it comes to this important fact and kept on without even looking back._

"… _um…to sum it up….." The boy spoke to a halt, remaining silent for a moment before slightly raised his hand up."Just in case, tell me if Kamijou-san says something wrong, alright? Since everyone around me is currently not right in their head, I don't want to accidently say anything that offence you."_

… _because I don't know what will happen to me if this takes a bad turn._

 _The girl didn't really get his word but nodded her head afterward._

" _To sum it up, this person whom you referred to back then never seems to pay any attention to you and you both rarely have talk with each other or maybe not even once. And since your presence is somewhat weak just like Himegami, you want to change, to break out from that vessel in order to make that person notice you."_

… _but even so…..hearing you say all those words, Kamijou-san really can't ignore it…_

"… _well, before I give you my opinion about [that person] in your story, let's talk about you first then."_

" _Eh?"_

" _You said your existence was weak, so much that you've already started to see yourself as those side characters in a novel illustration or a simple background in a family picture."_

 _Unexpectedly….._

" _You see, if you truly believe that your life works in that way, before and even until now…." Softly spoke and stopped midway, Kamijou's gaze hardened and pierced into the dim heart shape inside the girl's iris. It took her by surprise."…..then let me tell you this."_

 _All of a sudden, Kamijou grabbed the girl's arm with his firm right hand and rose up straight, breaking free from her grasp without a care, which added more surprise to the background girl. Her eyes went wide and was slightly taken back at his action._

 _Since the boy grabbed her arms by the sleeve, Imagine Breaker could not make contact with the…..whatever that made those strange heart shapes appeal in her eyes. If there was something that got negated by it, it would only be the AIM Diffusion Field that formed around her physical body._

" _That way of thinking is very wrong, you know."_

" _Wha-"_

" _Existence? Weak? To be honest, I don't know much about your school life or what you were doing with it till now. As your classmate….no….for someone like me, saying those stuff might not be right in a sense but it can't be help, Kamijou-san is a person whose life is filled with nothing but misfortune and misery, always too busy to deal with every little trouble that continuously come at him like it's a part of his life."_

 _Confused filled the mind of the girl with the headband as she listened to what appeared to be the complaint, the rambling nonsense of Kamijou Touma about his daily life._

 _Realizing his speech was on the edge of getting off the topic, the spiky haired boy coughed awkwardly and then looked into the girl's eyes where the heart shape had started to change its form from a dim color to a slight shade of bright, pure pink._

 _Her heart was beating strongly inside her chest, the girl must had been really flustered at this turn of event. But…._

 _Was it really just surprise?_

 _Perhaps no one would know what kind of emotions were stirring her mind as the familiar strawberry color slowly painted her cheek under the determined, piercing gaze of a certain [that person]._

" _Anyway, right now I can definitely tell you that your very own existence has nothing to do with whether everyone around can notice you or not, nothing of the sort. Why seeing yourself like a blurry shadow or like a background picture? Why do you have to look at your life this way when there is more to it than you can actually know? Moreover, you might be right about how Himegami used to have some troubles in expressing her own thoughts and was a little bit too quiet for her own good, but her existence is not that weak."_

 _Zero hesitation, the boy leaned forward and stressed every single word._

" _ **And it will never be, I guarantee it."**_

 _The headband girl almost gasped at how close the distance between her and his face, it was so close that the tip of their nose was nearly touched._

 _It was a good thing that she could still pay attention to every words he said. However, the endurance she put on seemed to be on the verge of breaking as the heart shape in her eyes disappeared and reappeared repeatedly, it almost liked the girl herself was being torn between a great amount of embarrassment and excitement._

 _However, despite the girl's mentality was on edge, Kamijou still pushed forward while holding the girl's arm in his right hand without having the slightest awareness that he was being unusually aggressive._

" _Himegami is my friend, ours friend and our classmate. If she ever needs help, I will gladly come to her aid and help her as much as I could so she can enjoy this high school life with a smile on her face. If she's still having trouble expressing her thought at the time, Fukiyose will be there for her to rely on so she can let out everything that cross her mind. Even though lately we're not talking with each other much in class but I can assure you, her presence has never been weak, not at all."_

 _Lowering the girl's arm and let go of it, the boy put on a thin smile._

" _Like everyone else in class, Himegami is just stand out in her own way and she doesn't do anything that attract a lot of attention like us the Delta Force. Always bickering, joking and acting like a bunch of idiot all days." Kamijou chuckled, scratching the back of his head." I guess you've seen that already."_

 _At this point, the headband girl, who saw herself as a background character, was no longer got mixed in the conflict of her own emotions, she stared at the boy with her eyes slowly widened as if she had been captivated by his smile._

 _For whatever reason that no one will never know, the smile of [that person] had calm her down._

 _No….._

 _It seemed to make her heart gives out much more stronger beats._

 _Seeing her reaction but still clueless as ever, the dense boy paid it no mind and continued._

" _The same is also applied to you, too, don't you think so?"_

" _Huh?"_

" _You told me your existence is weak, like those side characters from a novel that the readers barely pay their attention to. Well, Kamijou-san doesn't see it that way though. Just because you didn't appear in the eyes of the person whom you like so much, that doesn't mean you have to treat your own existence like some hidden easter egg in a video game. While we study in the same class, the amount of the conversations we have engaged with each other so far can only be counted on the fingers of one hand and that number may be even lower than that, perhaps non-existent, we might not even speak directly. But even so, I can actually see you chatting with your friends almost every day at school and show up everywhere I go, you know."_

 _Unknown to Kamijou, the girl's cheek reddened, the heart shape in her eyes slowly brightened._

" _Kamijou-san is not really confident with his long-term memory, but I do know that you have always been there: chatting with your fellow classmates in a corner of the room, cheering our class on the side during Daihaseisai and Ichihanaransai, nonchalantly sitting around the hot pots together with the class whenever Komoe-sensei decides to throw a celebration party for some special events of the year."_

 _Affection filled her chest full as he spoke those words next._

" _ **You were definitely there, this Kamijou-san is sure of it."**_

 _It was the answer that the headband girl, who was in doubt with her own existence, had been long looking for._

 _Nevertheless…_

 _It was also a full blow with the highest critical damage to her, a girl in love._

"… _..I see….."_

 _Timidly, the girl whispered as she moved her gaze down to the floor, letting her bangs covered the happy expression forming on her face. A hand placed on her chest, feeling the strong thumping sounds of her heart and gripped it tight._

"… _.so all this time…..you…"_

 _A moment of silence came._

 _Kamijou stared at the girl, whose face was hid from his view, while he scratched his cheek as he recalled something from the past along with the problem at hand._

" _To tell you the truth, sometime ago, there was this person….no, not a person…..how do I explain this?" Placing a hand to his chin, the boy thought of a way to rephrase his speech."Uh, a very, very old priest once made a nonsense, stupid joke about someone have been always keeping an eye on me. During that time, his joke made this Kamijou-san went all chilling and I immediately mistaken that someone was you."_

 _The boy slowly stood up and dusted off his clothe, keeping his gaze on the girl._

" _Well, since I saw you show up everywhere I go to so…" Kamijou slightly bowed his head down."…..I'm really sorry. I was quick to jump into conclusion and easily fell for that damn mummy's rambling, which made me feel regret for not being able to punch him hard in the face after that."_

 _The girl still remained silent with her head down._

" _Maybe you don't even understand what nonsense I was talking about but I feel like I will need to apologize you for that since I have finally got the chance to speak with you like this…..ah…" Kamijou's eyebrow raised up as he remembered something."…um….by the way…."_

 _For some reason, Kamijou rubbed the back of his head in awkward with his eyes glanced to the side._

" _It's…a little embarrassing to say this. But even though we are classmate together, I still haven't known you name yet."_

"… _.."_

" _So…."_

"…"

 _A sweat slid down from the boy's forehead, the atmosphere and the silent treatment from the girl was making him feel a little bit nervous._

… _..awkward…..this is so awkward! This silence is too awkward!_

" _M-may I know your name?"_

"…"

… _..no reaction?_

" _Hey, are you feeling alright?"_

 _Having no idea why the background girl didn't show any sign of movement, Kamijou bended down to take a closer look at his classmate. The boy steadily extended his right hand toward the girl._

 _Suddenly, the boy flinched right on the spot._

… _..hm? What's with that heavy breathing sound?_

 _From somewhere, several heavy breathing sounds reached to his ear. As he looked around to find the source…_

 _It was then the black spiky haired boy felt a light tug on his leg._

 _It was the headband girl, she had already stretched out her arm forward and grabbed his pant with a strong grip that never suit for a slender figure like her._

"… _..so, all this time…Kamijou-kun…." A soft voice escaped from the girl._

" _?"_

 _The girl lifted her face up and the called boy's eyes went wide at the sight in pure surprise._

 _By some unexplainable phenomenon, the heart shape in her iris was emitting a light pink aura as a genuine smile formed on her trembling lip._

 _There was tears built up in the corner of her eyes, adding even more feel to her already blissful expression._

 _She seemed so happy._

" _ **..….all this time, you really did notice me….."**_

 _Seeing the look on the background girl, Kamijou couldn't help but feel something hot starts building up around his cheek._

 _Has there been someone this cute in his class or so the spiky haired boy wondered._

… _..ah….._

 _Almost got drown into another classic rom-com situation, the boy jolted upon remembering a very important thing that he absolutely needed to do._

… _..Ahhh! That's right! Now is not the time for this! Kamijou-san's bag! I still need to find it!_

 _Such as the host of the Imagine Breaker, the dense idiot had known how to break himself from the lovely moo….the "illusion" that a normal high school boy like him should have enjoyed._

 _The boy decided to help her up first before moving on to look for the lost belonging._

 _However, as he did so by letting out his left hand for the girl to grab on, the situation suddenly took a drastic turn._

 _The background girl grabbed hold of his wrist with one hand and the other hand, which was tugging his pant, went straight to grabbing on his orange shirt._

 _Startled by this and didn't manage to react in time, before Kamijou had finally realized it, his classmate had already stood face to face with him and pushed the boy back like she charged at him._

 _Due to the strong, aggressive push, Kamijou's back slammed against the plastic window shield. Luckily no chemical inside the thing was spilled over by the impact._

 _The boy could felt that his HP points just went down a ton of drops from this. And right now, his mentality was also in the danger zone as the girl pressed her soft body against him due to the momentum….._

 _No, it was not due to the momentum at all. She was literally hugged him with her face buried in his chest._

… _..d #$%1 !_

 _The boy screamed internally inside his head, trying his best to comprehend what the heck was happening but failed as the deadly combo of a sweet smell from the girl's hair and the slight "skin-contact" made him unable to gather his thought._

 _Quickly shaking his head and kicked himself out of the nine cloud for the situation at hand, Kamijou forced his hand to move and negated whatever the affect that made the girl act this way._

 _Unfortunately, he didn't feel his hand was moving as there was a tremendous pressure on his right wrist._

" _?!"_

 _Kamijou turned his head to his right and his face went paled, the background girl hadn't let go of his wrist and was currently pinching it on the hard surface of the cabinet._

… _.w-what is wrong with this ridiculous strong grip?! It almost like my entire arm got pinched down by a bear's hand!_

" _Kamijou-kun, you noticed me~." The background girl called his name as she rubbed her face in his chest before looking up to him, showing the expression of a girl in love."All this time, you really did saw and recognized me~."_

 _The girl brought up the hand that was grabbing on his orange shirt to his cheek and gently caressed it._

 _Receiving such a heartfelt touch, usually, a normal high school boy like Kamijou would have been blushing at the tenderly, warm hand of a girl rubbed on his cheek._

 _However, this time, the boy did not blush at all. On the contrary, he felt shiver crawled up and down in his spine due to the sudden aggressiveness of his classmate._

… _..I need to find a way…._

 _A way to get out of this strange circumstance._

" _Kamijou-kun~."_

" _Ah! Y-y-yes?!" Kamijou stammered hard in panic._

" _Please stay with me."_

"…"

 _The girl hugged him tighter with both thin arms wrapped around his neck. Those pink heart shapes in her eyes gazed at him longingly._

… _..she knewwwwwww?! It can't be, how did she know I was trying to get away?! Does she has telepathy abilites like Shokuhou and Mitsuari? Or is it written on my face?! Is my's thought written all over my face right now?!_

 _No, more importantly…_

… _.wait….why did she says those line to me? I'm not the one supposed to hear that._

 _The spiky haired boy's dense nature had once again kicked in, how unfortunate._

" _W-wait, just h-hang on for a second. Now that we have already talked out your problem, shouldn't you be out there to look for the person you mentioned to me rather than staying here?"_

"… _.."_

 _A silent, still longingly stare directed at the boy as a respond to his question. The aura emitted from the heart shape in her eyes seemed to become less bright, somewhat blurry._

"… _I see….."_

" _?"_

"… _..they say that boys usually don't get what you mean unless you say it straight out to them….I see it now."_

 _Without the slightest idea of what his classmate was muttering under her breath, Kamijou simply awaited….or rather figuring an escape plan, not referring to stay in this position any longer. By now his right hand was free from the girl's grasp._

 _It's time to take the chance and get out of here._

 _Or so he thought…._

 _Like in a certain timeline of a certain alternative universe, the circumstance had yet to spare the confusing mind of the healthy high school boy Kamijou Touma. Before the boy could even think how to deal with the "dangerous" situation he was in, the headband girl had already held up both hand, reaching for his face._

 _As she hold his head firmly, the girl lifted her feet, standing up on her tip toe._

 _And without a word, the background girl pressed her warm, soft lip against his….._

…

 _Meanwhile, outside A Certain high school…_

 _As the wind was violently raced against the order of nature, it passing a building located on the opposite direction of the hill where the Japanese-style school was built on. Conveniently, the building was tall enough and just by standing on its rooftop, you can get a full view of one side of the school built on the hill._

 _At the moment, a person was on the top of that building._

 _It was a girl._

 _Her long smooth black haired with two neatly tied pigtails stuttered gently and sometime flew in the air when a strong breeze came._

 _The hem of her skirt was on the dangerous level of being blew off, greatly increasing the chance of being exposed but that girl didn't seem to mind about it as she was sure that no one was there beside from her._

 _Next to her feet was a middle size guitar bag that was used to contain something that even heavier than the guitar itself. A small phone was placed on it, the screen was still on. The girl had carry it with her when she climbed all the way to this place._

 _When the breeze had passed and nature went calm again, a small cracking sound echoed in the air._

 _A large scope of a sniper rifle was dropped down on the floor and rolled along the way until it hit the parapet._

 _It belonged to the long black haired girl, who was standing on the rooftop with a great view._

 _For some unknown reason, both her hands were trembling slightly with her mouth opened wide in pure shock. Her skin was horribly turning paled._

 _The girl stammered heavily as she couldn't comprehended what in the world she just saw after pointing the large scope she had brought with her toward to one of the many windows of the high school on the hill and looking through it._

 _Soon, the girl fell on her knee as her leg, which was covered by a pair of black stocking, gave out due to the mental shock._

 _Slowly, the girl brought her shaking hands to her cheek, holding her own head in disbelief with her mouth still agape as she couldn't handle what she just saw well._

" _...ahh….ah…w-w-what…"_

 _Her mind was spinning madly in confusion, trying to process the sight that had caught by her golden eyes._

 _The sight of a girl with the headband and a familiar spiky haired boy "engaging" in a kiss as the girl pushed him against the chemical cabinet._

 _As the girl thought about it, the heart shapes that didn't match with the color of her eyes then took a dim shade of dark pink._

 _That boy…..she knew him._

 _And witnessing him involved in such activity caused her heart to throb greatly._

 _For a moment, the girl gripped the chest part of her Shidarezakura uniform while drifted her dull gaze at the ground._

 _Eventually,_ _ **the girl who carried the highest potential of having a yandere tendency**_ _stuttered in her quiet, soft tone, calling out the name of the boy whom she has feeling for._

"… _..Kamijou-sama…."_

* * *

 **Author's note:...eh?...eh? Press again his?...does that mean...does that mean...Kamijou has...?**

 **Well, that would be all for the "double" clifthanger. Let's get back to the note.**

 **Hm, I really don't know what to say right now, feel like I've been such a troll for updating this instead of TLL. But oh well, since this chapter had already in progress before the newest update of TLL so I decided to go for a change.**

 **It took long to finish this(ah, I'm not talking about the chapter's length though), jobs and school works has greatly decreased my free time lately.**

 **Anyway, Road to Romance is back with the new update, hoooorayyyyy! It has been nearly half a year since the one shot, hasn't it? This chapter reached the 19000 words mark (not counting this note), the longest out of all the work I had done so far so I hope it will satisfy your patience for waiting for this strange story I came up with.**

 **And so, back to the story. What do you think?**

 **The adventure continues and the trio of Kamijou, Kamisato and Noukan has arrived at yet another "dangerous" situation. Things end interruptly and we traveled back to the day it all began.**

 **To be honest, at first I thought the heart shape shifting color wasn't a good idea to display the mood of the characters who was under the influence of the strange [phenomenon] as it didn't sound...original. But since this is the Toaru world, anything could happen and this is also a fanfic story so original be damned (laugh). And as I used it in this chapter, I think it will make the romance tag more prominent so...yeah, let's just use it anyway. (the ship has already set sail so no turning back)**

 **One thing I noticed when I was writting this was that I seemed to have broke the fourth wall a few time since we have a "special" character in this chapter. For those who didn't know who is she, just go to toaru wikia and search for the article Headband girl.**

 **Overall, that is the second chapter of Road to Romance, I hope it will give you a good laugh while reading it.**

 **And that is all, review the chapter if you please. I'll see you in the next note.**


	3. Chapter 3: Discussion-Trouble

**Look what it is, I'm back with a NEW update! Ah, so happy that I finally managed to finish this. It's been nothing but work and work, life is rather tough than you could ever imagine.**

 **Anyway, the journey continue~.**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own To Aru Majutsu no Index.**

* * *

 _ **Chapter 3:**_

 _ **Celestial Event, Visitor_or_TROUBLE_Maker_?**_

 _ **Discussion_Trouble**_

Kiss…

What is a kiss?

Definition #1: It is something similar to the sweet taste of a fresh strawberry.

Definition #2: It is a trick to stop words of the opponent when speech becomes unnecessary.

Definition #3: It is the action that holds the true meaning of romance, showing the affection of oneself toward the person they want to bestow the kiss on.

Kiss alone can contain so much meanings. A tiny word that reflects the lovely sound of happiness, holding a strong feeling of many aspects in romance.

So…..

In this case, which definition it really belongs to?

There was this soft and comfortable feeling lingered around a particular place on his face combining with a wet sensation that was slowly luring his instinct in.

…..ah….this is…

Eyes closed shut on reflex as his private space was forcefully invaded, in a moment, the spiky haired boy could feel the warm yet tempting taste made contact with his lip.

The temptation seemed to materialize itself as it strongly claimed his whole mind, making his head empty by the second.

It was difficult to withstand such an act from a girl in love.

Kamijou could not dare to open his eyes, he was trying to focus on gathering his own thoughts which was on their way to the top of the nine clouds.

There was this warm touch on his face, it spread around and stuck into his skin like the girl was caressing his cheek.

…?! It's…..sucking in…..!

Kamijou felt his mouth was captivated as the soft part of her lip was pulling him in and never let go.

They became this way for a while until the boy could no longer endure and choke as it suffocated him.

Yet for some reason, he tried to open his mouth but it didn't move. He couldn't breathe.

…..Ukm…uhm!

Running out of breath, Kamijou opened his eyes and in his sight, he saw "her".

He saw an octopus sitting on his chest while many of its sticky tentacles warped around his head.

Seeing the sight of one of the arm was waving around his face while sucking the hell out of his mouth, a terrified scream soon echoed across the whole night sky.

" **GGGGGGGYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"**

…

…

After wrestling with the fierce eight-armed animal for a full minute, Kamijou eventually got it off him with the price of it spraying ink all over his face in the attempt to revenge him for rejecting its "confession".

Throwing the octopus back to the water, Kamijou stumbled backward on what seemed to be the soft layer of the sand. He was pretty much confused while the ink dripped down on his already wet orange shirt.

"How come there's an octopus on my chest?! What kind of sick comedy service is this?! Such misfortune!"

It took him a moment to calm down after having experienced a ridiculous situation that nearly got him a heart attack.

No, it has already gave him a good one and now his body couldn't stop trembling slightly.

To think a kiss would be like that.

…..no….no…..stop thinking about it!

Slapping the cheek to prevent himself from recalling the uneasy memory, Kamijou let out a heavy sigh.

"Hm?"

The spiky haired boy blinked once he noticed the change of scenery around him.

He looked up, the sky has turned dark and small group of stars appeared in many form of constellations.

….it's night now, huh.

Underneath him was the white sand. From left to right, he saw a long beach that stretched further to somewhere he didn't know of. In front of him, there was this beautiful sea that sparkled gently under the blurry light of the full moon.

Titling his head lightly to look over his shoulder, Kamijou's eyebrow raised up as he stared at a large column of smoke floated up high to the cloud. Far away from where he was stood a giant volcano lied deep within the forest. From what he can see, the landscape was simple enough for a location to exist inside a climate zone. It can tell a lot of things of his current whereabouts.

….I'm on a tropical island….

"I see you've finally woken up." An artificial yet gentlemanly voice spoke up.

Kamijou turned around, moving his line of sight toward the cracking sound from a small bonfire nearby. His two companions, Kamisato and Noukan were sitting around that small light source while giving him an odd look, mainly the brown haired boy.

But Kamijou didn't mind about it as there were more important stuffs to think about. The first thing was they have seen it all.

"You both were here the whole time?"

"Yes, we were." Noukan calmly responded."Is something the matter, young man?"

"One minute ago, I was on the verge of being violated by some octopus that I have no idea how in the world it was attaching to me, and you two are just sitting here and let this Kamijou-san almost experience death by suffocating? Wasn't that a little bit cruel?"

"Well now, we tried to get it off you but things didn't go as plan."

"…..didn't go as plan?"

The high school boy and the golden retriever both turned their view to the side, where the answer available.

There was a wide rope tied in between two trunks of the coconut trees next to them, Kamisato's wet blue shirt and swimming trunk can be seen hanging on it. Black ink was dripping down to the ground from both fabrics.

Kamisato had tried to help getting the eight-armed animal off the boy but the effort apparently had backfired him. His clothes was painted black as a prove of that. At the moment, the brown haired boy has changed his clothes to a different outfit, he was wearing the summer version of the uniform of his former school before enrolling into A Certain Middle-High School, before taking his action against the Magic Gods back in Academy City.

"Hey, I tried. It won't let you go so I left it be." Kamisato casually added an explanation while he threw him a tower to clean his face."….by the way….Kamijou-kun…."

"?"

"When that thing was on you, you were mumbling something with a red face. Are you into that kind of thing?"

"Hold it right there, Mr. Popular. What are you trying to claim by saying that?"

"It's alright, I know that you are always the one in the defensive during battle due to the nature of your right hand. If some strange tendencies start developing because of that then I am totally understand." Kamisato picked up a broken tree branch and lured some dried leafs into the fire."People don't normally aware of their hidden desire so if this phenomena has finally got to you then….."

The brown haired boy looked up to the person, who was once his counterpart, and put on a thin smile.

"Tell me to give you a good beating, okay?"

It was not a sympathetic smile.

Kamisato Kakeru was not amused the whole time when that octopus sprayed ink on not only his clothe but also his face while the spiky haired boy just lied unconsciously on the sand, drifting deeper into his dream with a blushing face.

Kamijou felt a little awkward, he scratched his cheek and glanced sideway.

"You don't know, Kamisato."

"?"

The boy sat down next to the small bonfire, Kamijou shifted his view toward the dark sky with many beautiful stars glittering.

"I just had a dream…no, rather than a dream, it was more like I were having a flashback inside a dream."

…..wait a second….

Memories relived, he covered his mouth with a hand.

In the end, what had happened during that time?

More importantly…

…..did I have my…..f…first kiss?

He didn't remember what happened next.

….eh? How come I don't remember anything after that? Eh? Did my classmate took away my first kiss? Why are the memories become all blurry of a sudden?!

One of the most important moments of his life and he has forgot about it.

…what the?! How can I forget such a crucial moment like that?!

"Such misfortune."

With another heavy sigh, Kamijou hang his head down in disappointment which earning him an odd stare from Kamisato and Noukan.

…but…..

The boy also realized something.

…why did she do that to someone like me anyway? Or…on second thought, maybe I was just imagining things thanks to that octopus messing around with my face.

The path to romance is still as far as ever.

Kamijou took some time to look around, his head stopped moving as he realized he has missed out something really important.

"That's right! Yuiitsu, where is she? And how did we end up here? Last time I remember she tried to bring us down with that giant chainsaw in the middle of the sea."

No answer was giving instead of action, Kamisato and the golden retriever both turned their head around.

Kamijou followed their eyes and the spiky haired boy couldn't help but widening his eyes in awe.

Lying behind a broken tree was the powered suit called A.A.A.

No, to phrase it more accurately, it was what left of the remaining of the anti-magic weapon machine.

"Are those….bite marks?" Kamijou mumbled quietly as he pointed a finger at one of many large holes appeared around the weapon body.

The A.A.A was heavily broken down. Gun, cannon, all kind of weapon attached around it were no longer in their original shape, some were even went missing.

From where Kamijou could see, the giant chainsaw was not there as a large mark resembled to a shark bite appeared in its place instead.

Standing up, the boy approached the ultimate weapon now has been reduced to a mere junk for a closer look.

Something has mercilessly crushed it.

Something that was even more dangerous than this monster of a weapon has torn its body apart without a single moment of hesitation.

As Kamijou made his way around the powered suit, he found the figure of a young woman in a slightly torn business suit.

It was Kihara Yuiitsu with a warm handkerchief placed on her forehead. Her lab coat was neatly folded and used to support the back of her head as her unconscious form lied on the sand.

"What happened to her?" Kamijou turned back to his two companions and asked in worry.

" **It was your right hand."**

"…..?!"

"The Thing inside it did that to her." Kamisato gave him a short yet made all senses answer.

Kamijou blinked and immediately looked at his right hand.

….ah…..my shirt….

Until now, he noticed the arm of his orange shirt has gone, displaying his bare right arm.

It finally came to him, his arm had just been cut off and healed back.

"You stretched out your arm in the way of that chainsaw so…..." Kamisato shrugged."You know the rest."

The beings resided inside this right hand of his has turned the fearsome monster known as the A.A.A into nothing more than broken junk and put a stop to Yuiitsu's act, who was in yandere mode under the effect of the strange [phenomenon].

Kamijou felt somewhat nervous as he thought about how the Thing has knocked out a Kihara member. During that moment, the A.A.A must had been no different than a normal play toy for "them".

The spiky haired boy hurriedly came to the young woman's side and sat down on his knee as he checked her condition. There was some minor scratches and bruises here and there on her face and leg, no fatal injury was inflicted on her body or whatsoever.

"It was a one-sided battle, wasn't it?"

"Well, things were done in a blink of an eye. I'm afraid I can't call that was a battle anymore." Noukan voiced out his answer."The A.A.A couldn't do anything against the mysterious existence hidden inside your Imagine Breaker, Kamijou-kun."

At this moment, Kamisato stood up from his sitting spot near the bonfire. The brown haired boy grabbed a bottle of mineral water inside the medium size bag he placed next there before he made his way toward Kamijou and the unconscious Yuiitsu.

"When Yuiitsu swung that giant thing down, the boat we were on was split apart along with your right arm." The boy spoke up while he pointed a finger at the handkerchief on the young woman's forehead, signaling to the other boy to grab it for him."The three of us then got drown into the depth of the ocean, you was unconscious around that time."

"…" Remaining silent to listen, Kamijou took the warm piece of cotton and gave it to him.

"Lucky for you and me, he managed to keep us both closed together with those robotic arms inside his backpack." Referring the cleverness of the golden retriever, Kamisato poured a small amount of water into the handkerchief and gave it back to the spiky haired boy."The next thing I knew, we were pulled out the water as Yuiitsu used the A.A.A to capture her sensei."

Eyes never left the brown haired boy, Kamijou wring the handkerchief until it fully dried and placed it back on Yuiitsu's forehead.

The story continued.

"To be honest, I thought we were done for but then I saw your right arm floated above the water surface and there was no blood bleeding out."

"…"

"After that, something really strange started happening."

"Strange?"

"Many giant wave of tsunami suddenly rose up from every direction, even though the sky was as clear as a normal sunny day during summer. In the end, the "unnatural" disaster drown us once more into the depth of the ocean." Noukan added in.

"The craziness wasn't over yet though. It was just a guess but since there was this ridiculously strong current rushed passed us while we were under water, it almost felt like we were being eaten alive by that Thing from your right hand and that was not the kind of scenario I can easily forget."

Fear took hold of the mind of all those who was in such a situation. It was a nerve-breaking feeling that Kamisato and Noukan would likely never want to experience again.

"I couldn't hold my breath so I fainted. By the time I came to, this thing here….." Kamisato titled his head to the broken A.A.A."…..has already been a wreck."

Kamijou glanced down at his right hand, a drop of sweat formed on his forehead.

"Then, how did we end up here on this island?"

"The A.A.A."

"?"

"Yes, thankfully, the weapon machine wasn't completely dysfunctional. The black box still has some time left to operate before shutting down by itself due to heavy damage, it took quite a while to make the boosting system worked again but at the very least, we have arrived to where we need to go to."

Another comment from the golden retriever.

"It was dangerous to be in such a situation back then. But thanks to that we have been saved from Yuiitsu's uncontrollable desire, however, I don't think I ever want to take the risk for being near such an overwhelming existence again nor do I want to confront it."

Kamijou began to feel guilty as he realized he had done something that could endanger the life of everyone.

"I'm sorry!" Kamijou apologetically bowed his head down before his companions."I accidently did that on reflex, I really didn't mean to resolve to such-"

A chuckle came from the speaker on Noukan's collar.

"No no, you don't have to apologize. Between good and bad, it could have been a bad gamble for all of us considering the nature of the power inside that right hand of yours. But between like and dislike, I won't say that I dislike it. That power has certainly saved us from dried situation and despite I myself have some minor scratches, I'm still glad that my apprentice was left unharmed and safe."

"Then, she's alright?" Kamijou glanced back at the unconscious young woman.

"After what happened, she hasn't regained her consciousness yet but yes, she will be fine."

"I see." Kamijou let out a soft sigh in relief.

The boy was glad that no one has got hurt by the rampage of one of "them".

"…..so it was **[Water]** this time, huh…"

The boy mumbled quietly to himself. However, Kamisato's ear caught those strange words.

"Water? Do you need a drink?"

The brown haired boy offered the bottle to him, but the spiky haired just shook his head in decline. It seemed that wasn't the real meaning behind those words.

"N-no, I'm good. Anyway, what are we going to do next? This island is the location we were looking for, right? What is the next step to save everyone from this [phenomenon]?"

"Take it slow and no need to rush, Kamijou-kun, we'll continue this conversation later after you had cleaned yourself up."

The boy turned to the golden retriever, who was lying on what seemed to be a medium size table-clothe.

"…..clean….what?"

"Your clothe is wet and stained with ink, won't it be a good idea to change it? Moreover, the weather around this area can be a little bit cold at night."

…..ah, I totally forgot that.

A short breeze passed through the small camp, causing the boy to clumsily let out a sneeze.

….

….

"Alright, now what's the plan?...wait, what exactly are we looking at here?"

Wearing the summer version of his school uniform, Kamijou stared at the screen of Kamisato's tablet with both eyebrows raised up. A hint of confusion was showed on his face.

"Marriage rate chart." Was what the other boy calmly replied.

Kamijou felt like he was threw into a spiral of endless confusion.

"…..marriage rate….w-why?"

"Let me explain to you first, Kamijou-kun. Think of it like this, before the [phenomenon] occurred, our country were known as one of the nations that has the lowest marriage rate in the world. Throughout the recent years, the majority of men and women just keep aging, living their life without willing to get a soul mate, which had been a calamity for..….hey, what's with that stare you're giving me?"

"Nothing, I'm just surprised to know that you are the kind of person who is interested in this kind of topic."

"Are you trying to pick a fight?" A tick mark popped out on Kamisato's head but the boy just sighed and shrugged it off."Look, don't get the wrong idea. This is the source I found from the internet and this second chart here is the data this per….guy…uh…dog here has collected and analyzed from various database across the world."

"Wait, wait." Kamijou raised up a hand to temporarily stop the conversation and turned to the golden retriever."I don't think I can catch up with the flow of this conversation yet, how does marriage rate relates to this circumstance? Is there a connection between the two matters? Because I was expecting something yandere-ry and obsession, strong desire related topic. Or more like a solution that could help us put an end to this."

"Do not worry Kamijou-kun, aside from the yan….." There was a short pause and an awkward cough from Nouka's collar."….uncontrollable desire of romance and obsession, everything that happens recently and what we are going to discuss are all related. We will need to make it clear for us about what we will encounter and how far we are able to understand the [chaos] that is rampaging our world. From that, we could come up with an appropriate counter measure to help dealing with it."

"Since we don't even know about the thing that we are looking for, we need to know what we should and what we shouldn't do so if the worst case happens we could avoid being put under the effect of this [phenomenon]."

Kamijou crossed his arm and nodded, starting to get the idea.

They left the place where they belonged to so they could save the world from an unknown cause.

They knew they were looking for something that none of them even know of.

They were aware that the goal they tried to reach their hand to have the lowest chance of success.

What they did was no different from finding a needle in a haystack. However, it was still better to plan out things first before taking action.

"So far, you and I both show no sign of being affected by it. I don't know why but maybe it was thanks to the power in these right hands or because of some other unknown reasons that we are able to stay the way we are. But that doesn't mean we are completely immune to it."

"What do you mean?"

"Remember when you were unconsciously blushing in your sleep when that octopus doing some censored stuff on your face? I suspect that is a hidden desire that you have never been aware of yourself."

The spiky haired boy paled.

"No no no! That is wrong! That is totally a misunderstanding! The stuff you saw back then was just a stupid comedy service!"

"Don't try to break the fourth wall in such a lame way, Kamijou-kun. There is nothing to be ashamed of." Kamisato folded his arm and spoke thoughtfully."Every human being in this world all have one or two darkest secret desires that they don't want to accidently show to anyone. You've already known about the term masochist and sadist, haven't you? It's like that."

"You're saying those terms on purpose, aren't you?! No! Stop looking at me with those pitying eyes!" Kamijou clutched his head as anime tear started flowing out."Kamijou-san don't want to be looked at like a pervert in the eyes of his companions just because of a flashback inside a dream!"

The spiky haired boy let out a deep sigh in defeat.

"Such misfortune."

….

….

"So…..again, why marriage rate chart? And what is this about calamity something you just said?"

"You know what, forget about the stuff I just said. I'll go straight to the main point."

"…..uh….alright…"

"Just take a look at these numbers, these columns and you'll see. Most of them almost hit the roof, correct?"

The spiky haired boy nodded at the brown haired boy's words.

"These are from yesterday. Next, look at this. This is from around three weeks ago, there is almost nothing, the number of wedding ceremony or any other related activities happened during this time is extremely scarce."

Kamisato put away the tablet and draw a straight line featuring the time line on the sand with a stick. The difference was so clear.

"Based on these charts, if we put all the data together, we will know when this [phenomenon] started and which locations were first affected by its influence."

As his former counterpart explained, Kamijou carefully scanned through all the data appeared on each chart.

…..so many….

The numbers didn't make much sense to him but the boy instantly knew that his companion has been collecting all the data available from all sources around the world and these charts were the result of their effort.

"Since these numbers just keep increasing without a stop, it's not much difficult to pin point the exact time when the [phenomenon] happened." Kamisato pointed the head of the stick at the smallest column with the smallest number."Right here, from 18 to 20 days ago. Nearly three weeks."

"And the place where the [chaos] first started is…..huh?" Kamijou's voice trailed off in confused."Wait, why are there so many locations?"

Exactly, under the lowest column with the lowest number was a ton of city, country names. The line was long enough that it could easily filled half of a small paper.

"Japan, China, Russia, England, American…err….err…hang on a minute! Doesn't this mean the whole world has already been affected on the very first day?!"

Kamijou yelled out in shock as the truth has been discovered.

"Not quite."

Noukan's calm tone in the form of an artificial voice quickly wipe away the shocking expression on the boy's face.

"Huh?"

"It's corrected to assume that our world, the Earth, has been put under the influence of the [phenomenon] on the first day. But it's also wrong to think of it like that, there is more to it than meets the eyes, Kamijou-kun."

"What do you mean?"

"The influence, or the [chaos], only happens a few days later. Now, think about this carefully, the list of location's name you're seeing here is the place where the [phenomenon] first struck. But here is the question."

"…."

"Why are those locations were the only places where the [phenomenon] first started and spread out the whole world? Why only those names?"

….why only those names?...ah!

Slowly, it came to him, the answer.

"Are you telling me those places share some kind of a similar trait?"

"Close." The golden retriever nodded."You are starting to get on the right track, young one. Now, here is another question. What kind of similar trait do you think is sharing between these locations? What kind of feature that linked all these place together under one column of data in this chart?"

"Lowest marriage rate!" An instant answer from the spiky haired boy.

"Wrong." An instant respond from the brown haired boy.

"Lowest birth rate!"

"Wrong."

"Lowest population's growth?"

"Way too wrong."

"Eh? That's not right either? Then what could…" Kamijou folded his arms, tilting the head to one side in deep thought."...ah, I see…..so that's how it is, huh."

"I assume you have come up with the right answer?"

"Yeah, I think I know the answer now." Kamijou let out a small sigh as he replied."To think society nowadays would be this serious."

Question marks danced on top the boy's companion's head as they heard that.

"So what's the answer?" Kamisato spoke up.

"Some people in those cities were wishing for more love!"

Dead silence filled the whole area. How in the world did he able to think of an answer like that?

"You're so hopeless. What do you think love is? It is relevant?"

"Kamijou-kun, open your mind more. This requires critical thinking."

The said boy had to resist the urge to cover his face in embarrassment.

That was not the rightful answer, absolutely not.

….critical thinking, huh.

Calming himself down, Kamijou started working on gathering his thought again.

…..these locations, the same trait that they are sharing.

What could it possibly be?

….the scenery…

No.

…topographic characteristic…

No.

…..the same sky…..

Doubtfully.

…...no no, that's not it.

Drowning deeper in thoughts, Kamijou reached to the tablet and looked at those data once more.

About 3 weeks ago, the strange [phenomenon] happened and started spreading to the entire world.

….these specific locations were where it all began.

There was nothing alike when you looked at the image of these locations on world map or the pictures on the network.

There was no similar trait shared between them.

There was no feature linked them together.

….wait…..

Remember Noukan's word telling him to open his mind, the spiky haired boy slowly widened his eyes as an idea struck him.

…the same trait…what if the trait here isn't about the feature or the scenery or anything that related to the physical aspect of the location….but about some kind of event that happened 3 weeks ago?

That might have been the only explanation.

"I have a question." Kamijou put down the tablet as he stared back at the two companions."Did something or some kind of event take place at these locations before the [phenomenon] started?"

"Yes, yes it did."

"Took you long enough to figure that out by yourself."

So the boy has finally reached it, the one and only answer Kamisato and Noukan has been waiting for.

"Three weeks ago, like a special occasion that happens once in a while, the world found itself witness a certain event. All the names that listed here under a single small column of data were the first places it came across. Be it day or night, everyone can see it clearly and they had no idea such a sight would soon lead to this situation." The golden retriever began explaining."I may be wrong about this but I'm sure even you, too, had also seen it already, Kamijou-kun."

"What?"

Hearing that, Kamijou's mind sunk deep into the past memories.

…three weeks ago…..I was…

….

 **[Three weeks ago]**

 **[Early Morning; 8:23 A.M]**

" _Touma! TOUMAAAAAA! How could you possibly forgot about my breakfast?! Othinus and I are really starving right now! Touma! Where are you hiding?!"_

" _Human, take my piece of an advice, it would be wiser to show yourself before the nun and I decide to apply a new punishment on you."_

"… _."_

 _In the early morning of that day from three weeks ago, Kamijou Touma was hiding in one corner behind the bathroom door to save himself from the wrath of the two freeloaders._

… _.._

"Sorry, but I don't think I had ever seen anything strange, that day was just one of another typical day in my daily life."

"Are you sure?" Kamisato raised up an eyebrow in doubt."Try to remember it again, because even for someone like me, that event also caught my attention in just a single glance."

Kamijou titled his head backward and recalled again the event which these two were talking about.

…..

 **[Three weeks ago]**

 **[Morning; 10:15 A.M]**

" _Kamijou-kun, is this truth?! You have already had a girlfriend?!"_

" _Kami-yan, you magnificent bastard! We saw it all! Yesterday afternoon, another beauty from School Garden just confessed her love to you in front that school gate, didn't she?! Spill it out! Tell me, tell Tsuchimikado, tell us EVERYTHING!"_

" _Like hell it is! She was just asking me for an errand! It has nothing to do with romance or any of your pervert delusions, Aogami!...wh….wait! How come it's not just the boys but the girls in our class is also chasing me?! Heh? Is that a rope? Is that a freaking rope one of them is holding?! I don't understand, just what in the world did I ever do wrong to deserve this?!"_

" _Kamijou, you really got some guts breaking out of class in the middle of the lesson! Once I deal with these idiot, I'm coming for you next so be ready!"_

" _Fukiyose, shouldn't you be reasonable at a time like this?! I didn't start any of this! Such misfortune!"_

 _In the morning of that day three weeks ago, Kamijou was being chased around the whole school just because someone saw him talking with a high ranked member of Shokuhou's clique, Hokaze Junko._

 _To Kamijou, it was nothing more than a normal conversation with a friend who was asking for an errand._

 _Yet, for the person who had witness it, under the beautiful, blazing orange color of the sun that hid away a small tingle of pink blush on the girl's cheek. Such a sight can be easily misunderstood._

 _But they weren't wrong to "misunderstand" it though…as the blush was there._

…

A pair of blank stares were given as Kamisato and the golden retriever watched Kamijou whose eyebrow was twitching repeatedly without knowing.

...

 **[Three weeks ago]**

 **[Lunch; 12:30 P.M]**

" _What's the matter, Kamijou-kun? Come closer, your senpai just want to take care of those bruises on your face, they look painful." With a transparent, dark aura emitted from behind, the beauty senpai gave the boy a "kind" smile as she approached him._

" _Y-you know Kumokawa-senpai, I came here just to ask you a few questions about the exercises you gave me yesterday. But I think I figured out the way to solve it s-so I'm heading back now."_

" _Ara~, then stay here, write out your answer and let me check it. As your official tutor and as your senpai, I have the responsibility to look after my cute little kouhai…ah, you're backing away again, do you think I'm going to do something to you? Come now, I'm just a hard working, passionate senpai who would do anything to help her kouhai."_

" _Yeah, and f-for a second, that magazine seems like it's going to be torn apart in between your grip. I-I have no idea why but my instinct tell me I shouldn't remain here long." Kamijou quickly turned around."I'll see you later."_

 _Before the spiky haired boy could make a mad dash out of there, in a split second, the strong grip that was about to tear apart the girl's magazine grabbed on his shoulder._

" _Well now, just stay here in my secret base and show me your homework, I even prepare a kotatsu for us beforehand. By the way, I, too, have been wanting to ask you a few things about the annoying rumor that is spreading around the school like wild fire."_

" _That's just a false rumor! W-why do you want to know?"_

 _Kumokawa placed both hands on Kamijou's shoulder and the grip was getting even more tightened._

" _False or not, regardless of the situation, I want to know the detail. Since stationary position is no longer a mandatory option for me,_ _ **I refuse to lose to anyone**_ _. That is why, Kamijou-kun, would you kindly come in there with me, sit down and explain it all to your senpai?"_

"… _.."_

 _During lunch of that day from three weeks ago, Kamijou thought he had just experienced something similar to an interrogation carried out by Kumokawa Seria. And the boy didn't even aware of the reason why she would do that._

… _._

…uwah, why do I get this chilling feeling all of a sudden every time I think about it….

"You seem to take a long time to recall it. Do you need a hint or do you need me to say it out straight?" Kamisato was losing his patience.

"Just…..a moment, I'm almost there. I'm starting to remember something important."

….

 **[Three weeks ago]**

 **[After School; 5:25 P.M]**

" _Gyaaaa! Hot! Hot! Pay attention to where you are shooting those beams at!"_

" _Oh don't worry, like I give a damn care about where to shoot! If you would just be obedient, stay still and have a proper match with me, I would have had an easier time focusing my Meltdowner and blast you into pieces with only one shot!" A girl with long, soft-tea color haired gritted her teeth in anger as the sound of broken glass repeatedly echoed in the air."F*cking stop right there and fight me, Kamijouuuuuuu!"_

" _Why the heck it's you of all people today and not Biribiri?! Why do I have to be in this situation?! I don't remember triggering any death flag! Such misfortune!"_

 _In the afternoon of that day from three weeks ago, Kamijou had to race against the wind in order to escape from Mugino Shizuri the fourth level 5, who happened to wait for the boy in front of the school gate after school ended and forced him to have a match with her._

 _It was also the first time in his life that Kamijou actually wished Misaka was the one who was chasing after him that time._

…..

"Hey, are you alright? You look paled."

"…..eh….yeah, I'm fine, don't mind about my facial expression."

"Kamijou-kun, you should clean your face, you are sweating a lot. Did you remember something unpleasant?"

More than unpleasant, Kamijou could swear that he saw his life flashed before his eyes during that chase.

"Three weeks ago, I think I had had a really eventful day. But now, Kamijou-san feels regret for ever remember it, so many bad memories."

"I'll take that as a no then." Kamisato let out a short sigh."This is taking too long so I'll say it straight, **that event happened at night**."

The spiky haired boy directed a "what did you just say?" look at the brown haired boy.

"At night?"

"That's right, at night."

"Are you kidding me?! I've already recalled more than 80% of those misfortune events that caused enough suffering to me three weeks ago and now you decided to throw a 'it happened at night' to me?! What is wrong with this cliché storyline?! Such misfortune!"

Regardless, Kamijou Touma finally knew exactly which period of time he should remember.

…..

…..

…

 **Meteor Shower.**

A special celestial event that occasionally occurs around the world.

It was a phenomenon where a transient rain of meteor appear over a period of time from one direction in the sky.

Three weeks ago, the same event happened. Yet, however, there was one distinct feature it carried, the one difference that shouldn't be possible for such an event to have.

On that day…

Be it bright or dark, dawn or dusk….

At the same time, on both sides of the planet, everyone could see it, the number of beautiful shooting stars that gracefully flew across the broad heaven.

It was also on that very day that the group of many stars, which normally appear as a "passerby", has change their role and become a "resident" as they never left the Earth's orbit.

Some was unfortunately burned up and never hit the ground.

While some luckily survived the collision with the Earth's atmosphere and made it to the ground, scattered around the world.

And then, right after that day, the [phenomenon] started to occur.

"So…..are you saying the celestial event that took place 3 weeks ago is the cause of the [phenomenon] that brought the whole world up-side down right now?"

"Yes, at the moment that is the best theory we could think of. Since it occurred around the world, as an event that only show up occasionally on one part of the planet, such impossible characteristic shouldn't be ignore."

"The fact that people on both sides of the planet could see the same event happening in front of their very eyes at the same time is definitely not normal, it cannot be a coincidence." Adding more to the explanation of the golden retriever, Kamisato calmly voiced his opinion.

Kamijou folded his arms and looked at the black sky above where the moon shined brightly.

"….meteor shower…huh…."

A small sigh resounded from the speaker on Noukan's collar. As if to relax his mind after analyzing the current circumstance for the spiky haired boy to understand, two slender robotic arms from Noukan's backpack popped out, preparing and lighting up the cigar it brought to his mouth.

As one long smoke with sweet-vanilla smell streamed over the top of the bonfire, mixing in together with the gentle wind, the golden retriever decided to sum up the topic.

"Well, I suppose that is everything we have, every knowledge available we could gather from these data and from ours own experiences about this [phenomenon]. As for the reason why and how it affects people and exposes their inner desire, unfortunately, we still don't have enough clue to come up with a solid theory yet."

Even though it was another one of the difficult puzzles waiting to be solved, yet they all related to a certain extent. They didn't have enough clue or in a more precisely manner, almost nothing, to put the pieces together…..until now.

"But that is also the reason why we are here, on this island."

Arriving to this seemingly isolated island, it was their main objective from the very start.

With the air filled by the sweet-vanilla scent came from the cigar, Noukan's artificial voice brought this discussion to the next level.

Now…

"Now, it's time for us to take the next step in our plan."

Back to his tablet and through some simple movements, the world map was showed on the tablet screen as Kamisato provided the visual image following Noukan's words.

"This is…" Kamijou blinked.

On the map, several red dots appeared, scattering around some parts of the planet indicated the location of the "unknown" stuff they were looking for.

"In order to find and analyze the routine of each of the meteors that came to Earth three weeks ago, I created this."

In other word, this was a simulation program made to track down the traces of those "visitors" from outer space.

Zooming in, the image visual with the shape of a small island appeared together with a red dot lied on the far end of its body.

"This island here, the east side of the place is our current location. And this red dot here." One of Noukan's robotic arm pointed its finger at the screen, where the red dot was fading in and out like an animation effect."…..is ours next destination. We need to go to here and search for the thing we are looking for. That is the second step in our plan."

"H-hold up, please…"

Realizing something, Kamijou spoke up in an uneasy voice.

"When you take a look at the direction on the map and ours current place…isn't…..isn't this red dot here is pointing to that….." The boy pointed his slightly shaking finger at the tallest location on the island.

"Exactly, the thing we need to look for is just right there…..in the volcano."

To rephrase it more accurately, **an active volcano.**

"Last time I checked, this location does appears on the map but it has no name, meaning that there are no detail record, information or whatsoever about the plants, the life and the animal living around this place. In other word, we are the first one to set foot on this island."

And the whole place was for them alone to freely explore and do whatever they want. However, despite "reluctantly" having all the advantages an explorer could wish for, they would not take that for grant and proceed their plan immediately.

At the moment, it would not be a good idea for them to let their guard down and roam deep into the forest, heading toward their next destination.

With the lack of info, the risk of doing such action was not so low to the extent like you were taking a walk in the park at night.

They were on an island where civilization hasn't reached to yet, they would need to be aware of the stuff this place could offer to them.

"It's dangerous and it's pitch black in there, who knows when a poison snake might jump at you while it hide somewhere between those trees. Even though I can see very well in the dark, I am still nothing but an old dog now, I might become a hindrance for both of you so I suggest it would be best to continue our plan and the investigation by tomorrow morning."

Finally finishing the last part of the discussion, one last column of smoke filled with the sweet smell of vanilla faded in the air, the golden retriever's robotic arms put the remaining of his cigar into a small box and retreated back into his backpack, looking satisfied.

"With that, the risk of having yourself struggle against the will of nature would be lower to a minimum."

"…"

"…"

No reaction.

As he was looking at the sea the whole time while giving the explanation to his companions, Noukan turned his line of vision back to the two boys. Somehow the still of the night just lingered so long around him like those two were no longer there.

True.

Those boys had left their spots.

"To get to that big volcano over there, we have to go past this forest, huh?" Kamijou gave a comment as he stared at the giant column of smoke rose higher to the night sky."It's not going to erupt anytime soon, isn't it? I don't want my misfortune to mess us up in the last minute."

"That thing only erupted recently due to the collision of the debris and the surface. I don't want to admit this but I don't like the idea of going inside there either. Light from the lava could reflect my shadow back so it's a huge disadvantage for World Rejecter." Rubbing his neck, Kamisato also voiced out his negative view at the idea of going into one of the most risky place on Earth."I'm basically useless in there."

"That makes two of us then."

Noukan realized something as he watched them, they didn't ignore his words but just standing there on the sand. Contrasting to their words, they seemed really eager to move there right away.

It won't be enough to stop these unique boys, it will never be.

The answer is really near their reach now.

"You know Kamijou-kun, isn't it a little too soon to lump me together with you? When I said useless, I meant the environment condition for my right hand to activate the power, not myself. I have plenty of survival skills taught by the girls in my Faction so I can still at least struggle a bit when it comes to live in wild nature."

"…"

The spiky haired boy gave no comment and just stared deadpan at the brown haired boy.

"Hah? Aren't you a little bit too soon to underestimate this Kamijou-san's survival skills also, Mr. Popular? Do you have any idea how capable I am when it comes to surviving? Have you ever raced against a Magic God on a bicycle? Have you ever experienced the harsh freezing weather of Russia and Denmark? Have you ever got shot in the back by a shotgun? Have you ever got thrown out of a plane and fall-free from 2000m high? Have you ever got drown into the coldness of the sea near Italia? Have you ever run to nearly death to escape from a dinosaur? Have you ever gone up there into space?" Kamijou threw a punch of sharp responds into the other boy's face."Taught by the girls in your Faction? Are you trying to show off your harem to this poor guy who doesn't have anyone that likes him? Shame on you!"

Not so sharp a respond there.

"That thought again, you really believe that no one likes you when you actually have a harem, huh? Need me to give you a hint about the specific number of the girls who has head over heel with you? A five digit numbers!"

"As if a harem with that kind of number exists!"

Yes, it does.

"Well, you know what, Kamisato?" Kamijou declared loudly as he pointed straight to the boy's face."Nice try, seeing that serious look on your face almost made me really believe that there is a little hope for this Kamijou-san but too bad, like I'm going to fall for that petty trick! Do you think you can mess with my pure heart by giving me a cliché number as that?! I'll break your illusion!"

"Try it! Do you wish for a new world?!"

Here they goes again, grabbing each other collar while intensely glaring with bullet-eyed like they was going to beat the hell out of the person in front of them.

Naturally, Noukan moved from his spot as he would be the one to clear this dark aura away from these hot-headed young men.

"Auh!"

"Ite!"

Two robotic arms appeared from his backpack and "lightly" chopped the two boys on the head.

"Listen now, young ones, I know you two are eager to save this world but at the very least, please go easy on each other. Knowing both of you had had quite a history together, I won't tell you to be friend or treat each other well or anything, just don't raise your hand against your companions or everything we have done till now will be wasted…..also, it's rude to suddenly go somewhere else when a gentleman is talking."

Kamijou, along with Kamisato didn't say anything and just rubbed their head at the spot where the robotic arm struck down. Even if it just a light chop, it was still coming from a pair of hand made from solid material.

"S-sorry."

Apologized Kamijou as he lowered his head while nothing came from Kamisato and the other boy just looked away.

"It's not like we were fighting, I just wanted to knock some senses into him."

Surprisingly, he spoke, somewhat conflicting.

"Kamijou-kun, I've never underestimated you, not in the slightest. But hearing the person who had helped me to free myself from the ideal world, my ideal and my stubborn view toward the girls in my Faction and my life always saying that no one likes him and all really is irritating me." Letting out a small sigh, this time, Kamisato pointed straight at Kamijou's face."You're looking down on yourself too much, Kamijou-kun."

"…"

"Sure, you help people, you understand their pain, you keep close to your ideal but you care so little about yourself, you're not even acknowledge everyone's feeling toward you. And right till this day, the pain and depression you felt from those phrases, I'm sure you're still keeping it all to yourself." He lowered down his arm, letting it dropped to the side."Aside from that former Magic God Othinus, you haven't shared it with anyone, correct?"

"…."

"I'm saying this not because I see you as a friend."

Because that scenario will likely never happen.

"These words are meant as an advice. If you friends know you are always viewing yourself like this, don't you ever think they will get angry or sad?"

"….."

"Well….I'm just saying, forget everything about this empty conversation if you want."

Closing his eyes as no respond was given, Kamisato walked away from the two and head back to the bonfire where the fire was slowly cool down due to the cold breeze at night.

"You seem to misunderstand me."

Kamijou's sudden word stopped the boy on his track.

"Care so little about myself? Is that how people view me these days? That I always look away from my own self, my pain and my misfortune?"

The boy turned, eyes to eyes with his former counterpart.

"Yeah, maybe you're right. After getting myself involved into a ton of incidents and troubles, I started to forget about myself and just kept running head-on into many things that doesn't make this unfortunate life of mine any easier."

"…."

"I've always been ready to help anyone who's in trouble without a reason even if it means breaking every single bones, squeezing every drop of life left in my body. I truly feel at ease when I see those happy smiles flash on the face of every person I met."

In silence, Kamisato tightened the grip on both hands after hearing those words.

Noticing the expression on the brown haired boy's face, the golden retriever was about to stop Kamijou from saying any further.

As long as everyone is happy, he wouldn't mind to do anything including hurting himself to prevent those smiles, those happiness from disappearing.

That was the ideal Kamijou held deep in his mind.

But…..

"But that was the ideal belongs to the Kamijou Touma who **didn't understand the pain of being forgot** by those who are precious to him."

"?"

"?!"

Noukan, along with Kamisato who slightly widened his eyes, stared at the boy in wonder.

What was he talking about?

"I still willing to take the risk to save people from anything, I'm always ready to face any hardship thrown into my life, breaking every illusion that bring harm to everyone around me." The spiky haired boy glanced down at his right hand."But things change."

A very faint, soft smile appeared on his face.

"I'll never do those kind of acts by risking my life again."

Astonishment hit the puzzled look of his companions.

"Nothing worth will ever come out from that…..nothing."

"…"

"…"

The still of the night sunk in, combining with the sound of many waves rapidly rolled in the nearby coast.

Kamisato was literally surprised.

Did that mean Kamijou Touma no longer believes in his own ideal, the one of many things that made him who he was?

No.

He was still holding onto it.

He was still strongly believing in it.

But there was a small change, something unknown.

What could be the cause?

And what's with that smile?

….there's….sadness in his eyes….

Noukan, the golden retriever who was looking up at him, could clearly see a hint of depress emotion dwelled up within those blue iris of the boy.

How come his eyes look so distant?

"Ah, as for the harem stuff." The boy continued."Sorry, I don't think I can believe that there is someone actually like a person like me. It would be obvious, I have nothing special, Kamijou-san is just a plain normal high school student with a mysterious power resides in his right hand. Maybe I do save or help people occasionally but I just do what I normally do, I'm not a hero whatsoever so what is there for me to be liked by someone else. That would make no sense."

Forget it.

It seemed that small change or whatever it was didn't have much impact on his way of thinking toward the girls' feelings.

"This is so tiring, I'll go prepare ours' sleeping bags."

A question mark dance on top Kamijou's head as Kamisato walked back to the bonfire with a long sigh. His figure was like a person who has their energy completely drained.

"Huh? Did I say anything wrong?" The boy asked Noukan a question that had a so obvious answer.

"Kamijou-kun."

"Y-yes?"

"I may not be the one to judge but…..it's not about whether it's making sense or not. The most important thing here you should know is…you are too dense."

One quick word and the golden retriever returned back to their small camp, leaving the confused boy alone to himself.

"Eh?" was everything the dense boy could muster vocally.

That night, Kamisato prepared for each person a sleeping bag to help themselves from the cold breeze. Nevertheless, this caused Kamijou to sometime wonder just how big inside that medium size bag of his companion.

Before doing so they put more dried leaf into the bonfire so the air around could be warm enough to sleep.

The unconscious Yujitsu was covered with a blanket by her sensei and the said sensei also made himself comfortable as the old dog lied next to his apprentice, using his side like a pillow to let her head rest on.

Inside their own sleeping bags, Kamijou and Kamisato lied near to the bonfire.

As the golden retriever has already slipped into the dream world, those two were still awake.

The spiky haired boy just kept looking at the number of missed calls and unread messages on his phone while the brown haired boy watched something on his tablet.

A ring ton echoed in their ears.

It was not coming from the phone Kamijou was holding on his hand, it was from the one inside Kamisato's pocket.

Kamisato took it out and with just a few seconds spending to look at the phone screen, he turned it off.

It must have been a call from someone.

"You're not going to answer the call?"

"No, it'll be troublesome if I answer it."

"Troublesome?"

"You don't have to worry about it." Said Kamisato as he put the tablet inside the bag and lied down, turning his face the other way."Let's just sleep."

"…"

Saying anything more would be of no use, Kamijou understood this so he kept quiet and turned back to his phone.

A moment later, only he stayed awake.

…..

…

….

"Finally! Finally! Ahahaha, finally!"

In over excitement, a girl forced her slender leg to race pass the busy street of Academy City where the sunshine highlighted the happy smiles of many couples walking around. Heading toward an old two stories apartment in District 7, the sound of her leather shoes echoed in each fasted step she placed on the nearly rusty staircases as she ran past a certain loli teacher's room.

Opening the second door she saw, the girl in an oversized lab coat resembled to a kimono called out to her friends in the room in a high spirit tone as if she has just made a big discovery.

"Finally! I did it! I found the…"

But the girl was never had the chance to finish, the sparkling heart shaped in her eyes disappeared.

The room she just entered was covered in a black, depressing atmosphere. Lights were turned off, window was closed, curtained was pulled out.

Metaphor speaking, not a single sign of life presented in the room.

The look on the people's face in the room was considerably dramatic to the point she felt like the depression has materialized itself and haunted them.

"….ahhh….ahhhhhh…ahhhhhhhh….boss….where did you run up to?...who is going to protect you from danger…..?...just where are you….?"

"He is not here…..he is not here….why can't I find him?...I looked all over the city, I scanned every inch, every corner, every street, every house, every tree and I still can't find him...no, he can't just disappear like that…."

"….Kamisato-san…please come back….at this rate…..the flower will stop growing…"

"*mumble*….*mumble*"

Compared to the city now filled with nothing but flower and pink background behind her, everyone in this room seemed like they were seeing the end of the world.

Elza the delinquent girl was resting her head on the small table, her finger drew something like a heart shape on its surface in a lonely way.

Claire the girl who was described as teacher's pet tried to pour some water on the plant placed in the kitchen, but failed to do so as she was pouring the whole bottle of water right into the sink instead of the plant next to it. Her mind has escaped to somewhere else beyond reality.

Maya the ghost girl was in the dark corner, talking to herself in desperation as she couldn't find a certain boy anywhere in the city.

Luca the pirate girl just rest her back against the wall and mumbled something that didn't make sense.

Their mentality has reach it limit and slowly slipped away from reality due to the lack of presence of the main core, the boy whom they're in love with.

Ellen the tracer covered her mouth with her long sleeves as she witness the sight.

….oops, things will really getting out of hand at this rate.

A faint smile formed as it hidden behind the long sleeves.

….well, time to clear this haunting aura away and bring sunshine into this room~.

Taking a few simple steps, Ellen approached the curtain and mercilessly pulled it causing the residents in the room to squint their eyes like they were a vampire in pain as the holy morning light pierce through the depression in their souls.

"Rejoin~, everyone! Here is the great good news I brought to you all, I've finally found the coordinate!"

The girls of Kamisato Faction looked at the short statue girl in confusion, they didn't really get what she mean.

"Ah, yes, yes~, maybe I should rephrase it like this. **I found out where our beloved Kamisato-han is now**."

With those simple words, life, rainbow and sunshine once again filled the room.

"Really?!"

"Where?! Where is he?! Tell us!"

Questions after questions rapidly attacked from many directions (no pun intended).

"Hi~, calm down for a bit now. This is an exclusive information, I can't just nonchalantly share it with you all. There are a few certain conditions needed to be fulfilled. When you want a big prize, you have to play by the rule steps by steps so you might get it or you might not get it at all~."

"Yeah, yeah! Anything's fine, just tell us!" Elza waved her hand as she forced the topic.

"Really? You all agree? Well then my first condition is…..I hereby declare that Kamisato-han is officially belongs to m-"

"Not a chance!"

"Not a chance!"

"Not a chance!"

"Not a chance!"

There was murderous intent mixed in between those retorts.

….geh, even though I was just trying to make it look like a prank, this is so intense!

Meaning the intention was real.

"I mean…..let me rephrase that. My first condition is that we will need to assemble the rest of the member in the Faction and prepare to leave this city."

"Leave the city?"

"Because Kamisato-han is not here in Japan anymore."

"What?!"

That was a shocking discovery.

"I don't know why he just left us and went out on his own, but I'm sure we will need to find out the reason for this reckless act. So second, find out what our beloved Kamisato-han is up to in the past 5 days before he left."

"One moment, will you drop the world beloved?"

"No, I don't want to, or rather why do I have to when romance is in the air, filling everywhere in this world~?"

"Alright, is there anything else?"

"Yes, the last one and I will need everyone to cooperate together. Lastly, force the reason out of his mouth by **all mean necessary**." Ellen licked her lip covered by her long sleeves hand in a misguided attempt to emphasize the meaning.

"For the record, his lip is mine."

The flower girl declared something really outrageous and uncharacteristic, her hidden desire must has begun to resurface after hearing the third condition.

Then, lighting sparks flew across the room as everyone stared death in the eyes of each other. The girls of Kamisato Faction was so busy declaring war against one another that they didn't pay attention to anything happen outside the room.

In another word, Kamisato Kakeru is in big trouble.

….

….

Meanwhile, outside that very same room where a battle seemed about to take place, Komoe-sensei's door burst open as a dark red haired girl, who was on the verge of giving in to her uncontrollable desire, walked out.

"….need to find him…have to find him. Where in the world did he disappear to?"

Musujime Awaki mumbled under her breath as she was about to continued her search for the person she was referring to.

"Ahh, darn it! That's it, no more gentle. When I find out where he is, I'll just come and push him down right on the spot!"

She shut the door and teleported away after saying those "dangerous" words.

Inside the room, the loli teacher was fidgeting around with a cell phone in her hand while a girl in miko outfit kept a deadpan look on her face.

Himegami Aisa was staring into the distance while her finger repeatedly draw a heart shape on the tatami floor where she sat on. She must have been thinking about the spiky haired boy.

On the other hand…

"Hau~, hau~, what should sensei do? Kamijou-chan has not picking up any of my phone calls or even reply to my messages in the past few days. Every time I try to call him, he is always out of range."

In worry for the well-being of her student, the tiny teacher unconsciously spoke everything in her mind.

"Oh~, sensei is so worry. He hasn't gone to school or come to sensei house for supplementary lesson. He hasn't showed up in Kumokawa-chan's apartment for tutoring session in the past 5 days either. He is not even in his dorm. Honestly, what should I do? At this rate, Kamijou-chan is going to have to repeat a year for real. Sensei doesn't want that."

No matter how you look at it, Komoe-sensei was like a mother worried for her child.

But still, judging by the sound of it, Kamijou's situation didn't look any better than Kamisato's circumstance as his study record was at stake.

Hence, with the [phenomenon] and the chaos still in full rampage mode, the twisted romance and the hidden desire will never be over.

In another word, Kamijou Touma is also in big trouble.

…..

…

….

"Ouch!"

A tingling pain suddenly hit Kamijou's forehead.

The phone slipped out from his grasp and fell right at his face as the boy began to feel sleepy.

Letting out a soft grunt, Kamijou picked up the phone on his forehead and stared at the picture on the screen.

In that picture….was only him and himself.

After taking a few seconds to look at it, Kamijou decided to put the phone away and call it a night as he pushed the cover of the sleeping bag until it reached to his neck. It hasn't been long since he started remembering the comfort of sleeping in something soft, warm and not downright hard and cold like the bath tub back in his dorm.

…time to get myself a good sleep.

And maybe a good dream, too.

Relaxed his body, the spiky haired boy closed his eyes.

At the moment he did so, a shooting star flew across the beautiful night sky.

With that become the last sight he saw of the day, Kamijou's consciousness slowly slipped away into the dreamland.

….

 **[Five days ago]**

"… _.ah…."_

 _The spiky haired boy opened his eyes._

… _eh? Why is everything so dark?_

 _He realized the surrounding was pitch black. Everywhere he turned his head to, only the color of darkness appeared in his view._

 _For a moment, the boy thought it was weird._

 _If he remembered it correctly, the last thing he knew before everything went black, he was in the chemistry room with one of the girls in his class._

 _The last sight this eyes of him saw during that moment was the face of that girl with headband moved closer into his._

 _And before the boy could realize what his classmate was doing, a sudden lightheadedness struck his mind and his vision got blurry._

… _..did I just literally lost consciousness right in the middle?...wait, what else did I miss again? At that time…._

 _He remembered, at that time, there was also a warm, soft feeling touched on his lip._

… _.eh? Somehow…..I suddenly get this feeling that I've just failed to remember one of the most important moments of my life?! What was it?!_

 _But he couldn't recall what it was as his consciousness had already lost the struggle to remain awake and against a tremendous sleepiness that clouded his mind immediately after._

" _Such misfortune."_

 _Can't be helped, there was no point in trying to remember it if he couldn't…..Kamijou thought so in disappointment._

 _Such a shame._

 _Taking a moment to look around, Kamijou started recognized the place around him as his eyes slowly getting used to the dark._

… _this is….the school equipment storage ….._

 _He knew that as he could saw several containers filled with all type of balls and a wire shelves stood near the wall where the sport equipment used in P.E lesson were kept._

 _That would mean….._

… _I'm still in the school…how did I end up here?_

 _The boy moved his leg to get out of here but unexpectedly, he found himself unable to do so._

" _W-what the?!"_

 _In pure shocked, Kamijou discovered a terrifying situation which he was in and only now that he realized it a moment too late._

 _There was a chair underneath him, he was sitting on it. But "sitting" here didn't carry the literal meaning._

 _The boy felt tight around his chest and arms as a rope was there, wrapping around him._

 _Yes, that's right._

 _Kamijou was being tied into a chair with both arms placing behind his back and another small rope to bind the wrists altogether. Only his leg was left free._

 _How in the world did he end up like that?_

 _Moreover, how in the world did the story develop into this?_

" _Damn…..so tight…."_

 _The boy tried to wiggle to escape but his effort was deemed useless as the bind was handled well._

 _The culprit who did this didn't seem to leave him any chance to escape that easily._

… _in that case…..I'll bring this chair with me!_

 _Immediately, Kamijou leaned back and threw himself forward. The surviving skills and experiences he gained from many battles had helped him to become more flexible in thinking of a way to solve problem when troubles approached._

 _However, with limited momentum, the chair only budged a little._

 _But that much was enough, knowing he was making a small progress, the boy decided to go on with another attempt and with more force._

 _He forced the chair beneath him to move inch by inch toward the door as his tiptoe barely touched the ground._

… _good…..just keep going like this…_

 _Maybe it was a waste of time method. However, at this pace he could eventually reach the door and call for help._

 _Worst scenario, it might had been locked by the culprit and he was trapped inside here, but the boy didn't plan to stop._

 _Kamijou Touma was not the kind of person who could easily give in to any problems._

 _So, first thing first, he would need to get out of here and find a way to untie these ropes before he could continue to search for what he had been looking for since this morning._

 _He didn't know how did this happen and who the culprit was. Yet, he didn't have the time to concentrate on this either, he simply didn't care._

 _If the culprit's target was only him, then it would make things less difficult for him._

… _I can focus on this later, have to find my school bag first._

" _ **No, you cannot go there."**_

 _Kamijou's movement froze as he heard it._

 _He was not alone, someone was here with him._

 _It was a sweet, somewhat timid yet deadly tone of a voice._

 _Following by the sound of a switch being turned, a bright light shined past him from behind._

 _With the surrounding became brightened up by the sunlight, Kamijou steadily turned his head to look back._

 _At the end of the storage, a small window ventilation was opened._

 _A slender figure of a girl stood there, in the middle of all that strong ray of lights came through the small window. Kamijou squinted his eyes in respond as the sunlight was getting into his eyes._

 _It was difficult for him get a clear view of who that girl was._

" _I s-sincerely apologize for this, Kamijou-sama. After all that trouble for bringing you here, I cannot let this chance slide so easily." That figure of a girl approached him._

… _.wait a second….Kamijou….sama?_

 _Not only sweet, timid and deadly, the owner of the voice also had an elegant politeness that seemed to be misused in this circumstance._

 _Slowly, Kamijou widened his eyes as the girl stood in front him, her full appearance came into his view._

"… _.you're…."_

 _The long black haired that worn with two small pigtails._

 _The familiar dark color uniform of Shidarezakura Academy that neatly hugged her prominent chest and thin waist._

 _The golden eyes that was once contained the sharp glint of a predator now replaced by a lovely heart shape._

" _ **Yumiya Rakko.**_ _"_

 _The culprit of his current precardiment._

" _Yes, Kamijou-sama~."_

 _Kamijou knew this girl through a certain fateful incident where they first met each other._

 _She was a student of one of the prestigious girls-only school located in School Garden._

 _Out of all the residents in Academy City, out of all the person he has made acquaintance, she was the one and only ojou-sama who carried a communication disorder._

 _Occasionally, Kamijou spent some time to help her curing it as requested by the girl herself._

 _That was the relationship between Kamijou Touma and Yumiya Rakko, the seemingly normal connection between the normal high school boy and the ojou-sama who was a former operative of SCHOOL._

" _This may makes you feel uncomfortable so please bear with it. I know doing this is wrong and it seems really unfair for my superior but I cannot lose here, I must take a step forward or else it would be too late."_

 _Beware, "normal" was just a term used based on Kamijou own's perception._

 _So…...the reason for how did this situation happen, you had already had the answer._

"… _..w-what? Wait, I don't follow. More importantly, why am I being tied into this chair? Kamijou-san needs an explanation."_

" _I saw it."_

" _?"_

" _Back in the chemistry class, some background girl was forcing…her….f-forcing her…..." For some reason, Yumiya stuttered cutely in a timid voice."…..lip…on you."_

" _S-sorry, I didn't catch that, can you say it again?"_

 _Cliché as ever, the idiot's reaction was always giving the girls a tough time._

" _Back then, in the chemistry classroom, I s-s-saw her *ki &s #s…..you." The girl said something incomprehensible._

 _Kamijou couldn't help but kept staring at Yumiya who was feeling embarrassing after realizing her failed attempt at vocalizing her inner thought._

 _It looked like her disorder was setting in as she, being an ojou-sama and a person who once worked in the dark side of Academy City, could not use the words that she was not emotionally familiar with._

" _Guh!"_

 _All of sudden, Yumiya clutched her head like she was having a headache._

" _Hey, what's wrong?!"_

 _Rushed by instinct, Kamijou tried to stand up to see what was wrong to her only to forget that he was being tied down, the chair got yank forward a little bit, almost making him fall down on his face._

"… _because….I saw you…kiss….felt shocked…..couldn't bear it…" Something was changing inside Yumiya's mind as she mumbled continuously."…like…so much…can't….afford to…..lose you…"_

 _A short moment later, the mumbling stopped. Yumiya let both arms fell to her side like they went limp, her bangs covered a good portion of her face while she hang her head down._

 _It felt strange._

" _Yumiya?" Kamijou called out to her._

" _Kamijou-sama." The girl leaned in, slowly stretched her hands toward him._

 _And then….._

 _And then….._

 _Unprepared for the next development, Kamijou's mind temporarily stopped progressing as Yumiya went and hugged the boy._

"… _w-w-wha…" The boy stammered heavily in panic as he felt a soft sensation pressed again his chest._

 _It took the healthy high school boy a moment to cast the unwanted thoughts aside as he started to feel something was off._

 _Yumiya's act was the same as the other students in this school._

" _I won't let you go."_

 _And now, she spoke as she looked at him, there was barely a short gap between their face._

 _To be more accurately, the tip of their nose almost touched. The heart shape inside Yumiya's iris was shining brightly._

" _When I saw you…in that room with another girl, I thought I just have a mental shock….so worst that it caused my chest to throb so badly."_

 _Kamijou was speechless._

" _So before it's too late, before you are taken. I shot a couple tranquilizers at both of you, to stop things from engaging further."_

 _The girl just confessed something quite outrageous, didn't she?_

 _As a former sniper, shooting on top a building outside A Certain high school with the strong wind flew around was not much of a challenge to Yumiya._

 _Hence, Kamijou was still speechless._

" _I can't afford to lose someone so special to me. That's why I have to do this. Kamijou-sama….." Yumiya smiled."I'll never let anyone take you away even if it's my superior."_

 _Kamijou's mouth slight moved, trembling as it he was hit by an emotional feeling._

"… _.to think…."_

" _?"_

" _To think even an elegant ojou-sama would shoot a tranquilizer at my neck and kidnap me! My image of a cute, shy, noble ojou-sama is completely ruined! I knew it! Something is definitely wrong!"_

 _That was your thought about the whole situation?!_

" _Yumiya, listen. Right now, you're not yourself so please calm down. I need you to untie me and let me touch your head."_

" _No, I won't untie you."_

… _in-instant reply?!_

 _Remember, romance can make a person very determined. For a yandere, this concept was 100% accurate._

" _I witnessed everything, that background girl was forcing her kiss on you while I was still mustering the courage and finding an opportunity to do that."_

 _She said those words she was not emotionally familiar in such a smooth way. There was no doubt about it, Yumiya was under the effect of something unknown._

 _And yet, the spiky haired boy found it strange rather than the embarrassing word lied in between her words._

" _That is unforgivable." Yumiya's heart shape changed it pink color in a dark shade one as she spoke a very yandere-y line."So after tranquilizing you both, before I bring you to this storage._ _ **I've already taken care of her**_ _."_

 _That dark tone near the end brought shivered to Kamijou's spine._

" _Wait, you….you didn't mean…..? What happened to my classmate?!"_

 _Knowing Yumiya's somewhat sly and loose personality, and now with all the strange chaos happening around the place to cause the change in her action, fearing for the worst, Kamijou asked in worry._

" _I brought her to the infirmary."_

 _Well, for a yandere, that was awfully nice of her._

" _...i-is that so?" The boy sighed in relief."Thanks, that was really kind of you."_

" _Then I drew the word thieving cat on her forehead with a permanent marker."_

" _I take that back! That was not kind at all!"_

" _Kamijou-sama, are you defending her?"_

 _The bright heart shape in Yumiya's eye started changing into a darker shade of pink as she frown._

 _That was not a good sign._

" _No, I….how do I say this? Look, she is innocent or more like, everyone is not in their right mind, they couldn't control their actions….I think. Things just suddenly gone crazy for some reason I don't know and then it happened. Whatever you saw that made you do this, tied me into a chair is actually not what you think…..uh, Y-Yumiya. Why are you taking off your sweater?"_

 _Unbuttoned her sweater, Yumiya let it fell down to her feet. Her chest became even more noticeable under the white shirt._

 _A blush visible on Kamijou's cheek as he stared at…_

… _.not the time! Not the time! Remember your truest ideal girl! Onee-san is life and love! That's right!...no wait, that's not right! Remember your current situation! You are being tied into a chair with no way to get out and finding the bag is your top priority!_

 _Shaking his head left to right, Kamijou regained the pure mind of his usual self._

 _You can't blame him, he is a healthy high school boy after all._

" _You're blushing, Kamijou-sama. Do you like it when you l-l-look at me like this?"_

 _Kamijou unconsciously yelped at her words but quickly denied._

"… _then…."_

 _The spiky haired boy's mind ran wild at the event that he had never expected_ _it to happen. Yumiya boldly hugged him again and this time, she was literally sitting right on his lap._

 _Something kept making a thumbing sound nonstop inside his chest._

 _No, it wasn't coming from him, it was coming from Yumiya._

 _He was feeling it directly from the girl as she pressed her body against him._

 _So strong and so fierce it was, the beating sound of the heart of a girl in love._

 _The young gentleman couldn't help but just sat tight as he couldn't do anything while his movement was cut off with these ropes._

" _Kamijou-sama."_

" _Y-yes?!"_

"… _..just for a moment…..please excuse me….*sniff*….*sniff*…."_

" _Wha-?! S-stop, my neck….it's tickle!"_

"… _.ehehe….so this is….Kamijou-sama's smell…ehehehe~."_

 _For a moment, Kamijou's embarrassing gauge was nearly at its peak. But it was quickly shrugged off as the spiky haired boy realized something in the girl's voice._

… _was that….?_

 _Bliss._

 _Joy._

… _.she sounds…..really happy…._

" _Kamijou-sama." Yumiya leaned back and stared at him in the eyes, she was smiling."Right now, no one knows we are here, the area around this storage is deserted. We're alone."_

"…"

 _Kamijou didn't know how to react as he hadn't understand the meaning behind those words yet._

" _Nobody will interrupt us so we c-can do anything without afraid of being found out. I can have you all to myself."_

" _?"_

" _But if I careless, someone will take you away, I can't afford to let that happen. This might be the only opportunity that I cannot always hope for…so….." Yumiya gently caressed the boy's cheek, the heart shape in her eyes shined brightly than ever."Kamijou-sama, I want to ask a favor."_

" _Does it looks like Kamijou-san has a choice to refuse?"_

 _Casually said that like desperately trying to perform a bad tsukkomi comedy, Kamijou soon felt a cold sweat rolled down his forehead at the next second._

" _ **Let me 'mark' you."**_

"…"

 _Kamijou had no way to counter that as he couldn't utter a single word and just stared at Yumiya with wide-opened eyes._

 _With the chaos happening around the school._

 _With the unknown phenomenon that drove the very inner feeling of people out of their heart._

 _With the atmosphere in the room soon shifted into something that no one couldn't predict._

 _Kamijou found himself stuck in an impossible circumstance._

 _Whatever the meaning was, but…_

 _If the girl truly meant it like that._

 _If the meaning behind Yumiya's word was as literately as it was._

 _To sum it up, if Kamijou Touma couldn't do anything about this, his chastity and the lighthearted tone of this story would be in serious danger._

 _Now…._

 _How will he respond to this predicarment?_

 _/_

* * *

 **Author's note: Well, that's the end of it. Hope this chapter is worth for the long wait.**

 **So...a fun question, has anyone started going for Touma/Yumiya route after reading this?**

 **Personally, I wonder what would happen if these two meet in the cannon, what kind of interaction would turn out to be from Yumiya's view point toward Kamijou. For some reason, I find her character concept really interesting as an ojou-sama who has a communication disorder does has a lot of potential to be developped further (aside from her role as an antagonist). But sadly, Kamachi-sensei wrote her out of the picture so soon in just one volume, her personality and her issue with her friends in Shidarezakura Academy would have been interesting to dig deeper in.**

 **I thought I would want to explore her character more, primary her interaction with Kamijou to see how it goes so I guess that is one of the reasons why this story, this alternative universe exists. Currently, at the time the story started, they have already known each other for some time. So if I can have time or if you want to, one day I might write a chapter explain the first contact between these two (this universe, of course). Being a yandere, I say she is perfectly fitted as her dark side was that of a tenacious, sadistic hunter. And in this story, I figured it would have been toned down a lot thanks to the spiky haired boy (as expected of ours Touman).**

 **Well, that's much I want to discuss about her.**

 **Now, for the [phenomenon]...more detail will appear as the story progress, can't spoil ahead. (smile)**

 **At the very least, the trio got a lead on what to do, even though it was just a theory born from their experiences.**

 **R &A:**

 **Agent Nine: Sorry if the first two chapters was blurry in the plot but now you have it, the reason why this happened (in theory), the plot and the direction where this story is going to. Hope you enjoyed reading it.**

 **Guest: From what I can remember after watching a few romance animes, not much ending relates to yandere route is ended on a happy note but we'll see how the trio avoid it, the bad end.**

 **TheTruestMasterOfTempest: Thanks for telling, I fixed it as your request. Such a silly mistake I made.**

 **Since it took this long for this chapter to get updated, I thing I should say a few things relate to any update in the near future. With the current busy life I have, it might not be possible for me to update the new chapter sooner. However, I'm not going to stop writing and this applies to the other story as well, I'm not going to abandon it and if I do I would announce it beforehand so forgive me for being in the dark for so long.**

 **So that's all, review the chapter if you please. I'll see you in the next note.**


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